\ 




Glass_JX 



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Book____Gn7 




Liverpool Branch : 
CALEDONIAN WORKS, BOOTLE. 



Varnish Works: 
WEST DRAYTON, MIDDLESEX. 



Color Works: 
STORER'S WHARF, POPLAR, E. 



ADVERTISEMENTS. 



Nohles 8f Hoare's 

VARNISHES 



- FOR 



Every requirement in House Painting 
and Decorating. 

ALBAGLOSS AND 

ALBAMATTE ENAMELS, 

ANTI-DAMP, 

FILLING-UP "^°"*'/at.e> 

SILICO-FERRIDINE 

(Perfect Preservative Paint for Metals). 



TRADE 




Nohles 8f MEoare 

Cornwall Rd., Stamford St., 

LONDON, S.E. 

Telegrams—" Nobles, London." Telephone, 1302 Hop. 



ADVERTISEMENTS. 



PARSONS' 

VARNISHES AND ENAMELS 

Always give Complete Satisfaction. 

" ENDELLINE " and " ENDELFLAT " 
" LACREITE " 
" BRYT-LAC " 

ENAMELS for every class of work. 

VARNISHES 

for indoor and outdoor decorative work ; Boats, Car- 
riages, Motor-Cars, and all purposes. 

WOOD STAINS 

for decorators' use, in water, spirit and oil. 

"MOSAICO" METALLIC PAINTS 

in Gold, Silver, and various shades. 

" VARJAP " PAINT REMOVER 

rapid, effective and non-alkaline. 



THOS. PARSONS & SONS, 

8, €ndell St., £otig jlcre. Condon, UI.C 

Established 1802. Works : Milcham. Surrey. 



STAINING, VARNISHING & ENAMELLING. 



ADVERTISEMENTS. 




MAPOEl 





WHITE E/«}AMEL 

ES SWXMLE FOE OIUITSIDIK OE 

■WmLLNOT TllKN YELLOWo 
ALLOWS niME IFOIK MEETEHG 



IMS reiFECT GLOSS AMD) WMWo 

commm ho poisohouismbm^So 

ISl^CIH&DMGLYMODElBATn© EN 



TdD 



MANDER BROTHERS. 

mmiOT AiU WmE COLOUMMAKEMS , 

WOLVERHAMPTON. 



"*THE DECORATOR" SERIES OF PRACTICAL 
HANDBOOKS, 

No. 8. 

Edited by ARTHUR SEYMOUR JENNINGS. 



STillBIflO, VflRNISHINO 
fl]^D EflfllVIEliIiiriO, 

,^ BY 

J. H. GALLOWAY. 



London : 

THE TRADE PAPERS PUBLISHING Co.. Ltd. 
365, BiRKBECK Bank Chambers, W.C. 



New York : 

THE PAINTER'S MAGAZINE," 
100, Wiliiam Street. 

1910. 



Ix 



A). 



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EDITOR'S NOTE. 



The operations of staining, varnishing and 
enamelhng woodwork, although to some extent com- 
monplace, have undergone considerable changes in 
recent years. The time has passed when stains are 
applied to timber only for the purpose of imitating a 
superior wood, and many beautiful effects are now 
obtained by employing brihiant colours, such as reds, 
greens, blues and brown, thus securing a finish that is 
frankly due to staining and has nothing whatever about 
it of an imitative character. 

Again, enamelling on wood has made a great 
advance since the manufacture of white and coloured 
enamels has been so much improved. By the use of 
these specialities, surfaces may be obtained on wood 
which are practically equal to china in appearance and 
which are exceedingly durable in use. 

To describe in clear language and from a practical 
standpoint the art of Staining, Varnishing and Enamel- 
ling as it exists to-day, is the object of this little work. 
The author in every case speaks from experience and 
describes the operations which he has himself many 
times carried into effect. 



PREFACE. 



This little book is intended to explain in more or 
or less detail the operations required to be gone 
through by the house decorator in order to obtain the 
best results in staining, varnishing, and enamelling, and 
is mainly the outcome of the Author's practical 
experience. 

Emphasis has been laid on the better classes of 
work ; for though a man may have such work to do 
but seldom, it is thought that he should at least be 
acquainted with the knowledge of how to do it. Some- 
thing has also been said regarding cheap work, but 
this has not been dwelt on, because its modus operandi 
is already sufficiently well known. 

J. H. Galloway. 
January, 19 lo. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 
THE USES AND CLASSES OF STAINS. 

Staining — Imitative Staining — Wearing Property of Stains — 
Water Stain — Spirit Stains — Oil Stain — Varnish Stains — 
Chemical Stains. 

CHAPTER II. 

THE MAKING OF OIL STAINS. 

The Materials — Proportion of Ingredients — Linseed Oil — Tur- 
pentine — Driers — Japan Gold Size — Black Japan — Bruns- 
wick Black — Colouring Matter — Mixing the Stain — Imita- 
tive Stains in Oil — Warm Oak — Walnut — Mahogany — 
Satinwood and Maple — Rosewood — Ebony — Miscellaneous 
Stains in Oil. 

CHAPTER III. 

MAKING WATER STAIN. 

Water — Size — Beer — Vinegar — Liquid Ammonia — Silicate of 
Soda — Carbonate of Soda — Alum — Other Binding Media — 
Colouring Matter — Aniline Colours — Painter's Pigments — 
Mixing the Stain — Imitative Water Stains — Miscellaneous 
Stains in Water. 

CHAPTER IV. 

MAKING SPIRIT VARNISH AND CHEMICAL STAINS. 

Spirits of Wine and Methylated Spirits — Colouring Matter — 
Imitative Spirit Stains — Miscellaneous Stains — Making 
Varnish Stains — Oil Varnish and Spirit Varnish — Imitative 
Varnish Stains — Making Chemical Stains — Permanganate 
of Potash — Birchromate of Potash — Nitric Acid — Sulphuric 
Acid — Lime — Ammonia — Fumigating a Room. 



CHAPTER V. 
PREPARATORY TREATMENT PREVIOUS TO STAINING. 

New Wood — Sandpapering — Treating of Dirty Wood — Treat- 
ment of Lime-covered Wood — Treatment of Oil Marked 
Wood — Stopping Absorption — Glue Size — Fillers and Fill- 
ing In — Puttying — The Treatment of Old Woodwork — 
Painted Wood — ^Varnished and Polished Wood — Weather 
Stained Oak. 

CHAPTER VI. 

STAINING. 

General Application — Staining a Door — Skirtings and Margins 
— Staining and Wiping Plain Work — Staining and Wiping 
Relief Materials — Unique Effects in Staining — Mottled 
Work— Marled Effect— Blended Effect— Stippled Effect- 
Carved Wood Effect — The Finishing of Stains — Wax — 
Polishing — Oiling — Flat and Oil Varnishing — French 
Polishing. 

CHAPTER VII. 

' VARNISHES AND THEIR USES. 

Durability — The Uses of Varnishes — White Oil Varnishes — 
Maple Varnishes — Oak Varnishes — Paper Varnishes — Car- 
riage Varnishes — ^Bath Varnishes — Spirit Varnishes — Flat 
Varnishes — Black Japan — Brunswick Black. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

PRELIMINARIES TO OIL VARNISHING. 

Sizing and Filling In — Sizing Wallpapers — Spirit Varnishing — 
Japan Gold Size and Turps — Painting and Varnishing — 
Preparation of Surfaces — Preparation of Surfaces for Cheap 
Work — Mixing the Paint — Puttying and Filling — Applica- 
tion of Paint. 

CHAPTER IX. 
PRELIMINARIES TO OIL VARNISHING (Continued). 
The Floor — Brushes — Pots — Cleanliness of the Worker — At- 
mospheric Conditions — Dusting. 

CHAPTER X. 

APPLICATION OF OIL, SPIRIT, AND FLAT VARNISHES 

Oil Varnish — Varnishing Natural or Stained W^ood — Varnish- 
ing White Paint — Varnishing Wallpapers — ^Varnishing 
Exterior Work — Varnishing Furniture — ^Application of 
Spirit Varnish — Application of Flat Varnish. 



CHAPTER XI. 
FELTING DOWN AND HAND POLISHING. 
The Ground Work — Materials — Felting — Polishing. 

CHAPTER XII. 

DEFECTS IN OIL, SPIRIT, AND FLAT VARNISHED 
WORK. 

Grittiness — Cissing — Pitting or Pinholing — Blooming — Tacki- 
ness — Cracking — Wrinkling — Running — ^Ropiness — Yellow- 
ing — Loss of Lustre — Turning Blue — Silkiness — Peeling — 
Defects in Spirit Varnished Work — Chipping — Defects in 
Flat Varnished Work — Flashing — Turning White. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

ENAMELS AND THEIR PROPERTIES. 

Lustre — Flowing Property — Purity of Colour — Opacity — Ease of 
Application — Drying Power — Other Properties — Flam- 
boyant Enamels — Flat Enamels — Uniformity of Appear- 
ance — Stoving Flat Enamels. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

ORDINARY ENAMEL WORK. 

Woodwork Enamelling — Low Class Work — Medium Class 
Work — High Class Work — Application — Felting and Polish- 
ing — Enamelling Piping, Radiators, etc. — Enamelling 
Ceilings and Walls — Polishing. 

CHAPTER XV. 
ORDINARY ENAMEL WORK (Continued). 

Furniture Enamelling — Ground for High Class Work — Enamel- 
ling — Polishing — Bath Enamelling — Preparation — Harden- 
ing the Film — To Lengthen the Life of a Bath — Exterior 
Enamel Work — Defects in Ordinary Enamel Work — Loss 
of Lustre — Discolouring, 

CHAPTER XVI. 

FLAT AND OTHER ENAMEL WORK. 

Using Flat Enamel — Defects in Flat Enamel Work — Brush 
Streakiness — Flamboyant Enamel Work — Stoving Enamels 
— Petrifying Enamel Work. 



CHAPTER L 
THE USES AND CLASSES OF STAINS. 

Staining, or the application of a special semi- 
transparent coating to woodwork, is generally em- 
ployed to enhance the natural appearance of the 
wood, or to make an inferior wood resemble a superior, 
or, as in the case of oil stains when varnished, for 
the purpose of standing indoor wear and tear. Besides 
these, the cheapness with which the lowest class of 
stained work can be finished makes the operation very 
desirable in some quarters, although in such cases 
it is at the sacrifice of beauty and durability. 

When stains are used to bring out the beauty 
of the wood to the fullest extent, they should usually 
be kept light, and as transparent as possible. The 
best colour for this is one a little darker and richer 
than the wood, so that, generally speaking, the colour 
of the material to be coated should indicate that of 
the stain. Thus the natural appearance of a red wood 
is brought out by a reddish or brownish stain. For 
such treatment, the wood should be the best of its 
kind, and well finished — not badly dressed or otherwise 
imperfect ; because such defects are rendered more 
visible when the work is varnished. Of course, this 
class of work may be finished by flat varnishing or 
felting down in which circumstance slight defects will 
scarcely show, but whether or not the better the 
woodwork the better the effect. From this it is obvious 
that wood streaked with soft, sappy parts or covered 
with knots, should not be stained for the sake of its 
appearance. Even when it is prepared to prevent 
such parts turning black by the absorption of the 



12 STAINING, VARNISHING, 

stain, its finished appearance is not worth looking at ; 
therefore when such woods are not painted, the applica- 
tion of stains to them should only be for utility's sake. 
They have little of the quality termed reflection— -a 
satiny appearance varying with different view points — 
which is so essential to the beauty of wood, and may be 
enhanced by clever staining, varnishing, and poHshing. 

In imitative staining, it is also necessary that the 
wood be in good condition, but it is also of importance 
that it should have a grain somewhat resembling that 
of the wood to be imitated. By this means, the 
inferior wood when skilfully stained becomes a good 
likeness of the superior. Although this is the case, 
it will be understood th^t the principle cannot be 
extended to all woods ; for in the poorer varieties there 
is frequently little or no resemblance to certain of the 
better class, but where imitative staining is to be 
done, it may be accejjted as a general rule that if the 
wood cannot be chosen to suit the stain, then the stain 
should be chosen to suit the wood. Thus if the wood- 
work of a room is yellow pine, one of the best treatments 
that can be adopted is that of staining it to resemble 
pitch pine. Again, woodwork, say, of cypress may 
be made to give a good mahogany effect, while curly 
cypress, if suitabl}/ stained, suggests Italian walnut. 
Any wood, though, ma\^ be stained quite legitimately 
in any hue — common pine may be treated with oak 
stain — but judged by the effect conveyed, the operation 
may or may not be imitative staining. 

When stain is used for the purpose of standing 
hard wear, it is, of course, as in the most of painters' 
stained work, in conjunction with varnish. Without 
a varnish finish in one form or another, stain has very 
little wearing property, but with it, it wears better 
than the average painted job. Indeed, so much is this 
the case that the writer has seen rooms so treated 
in good condition after several years' wear, and has 
painted them simply because the inmates desired a 
change. Nevertheless, some critics assert that paint 



AND ENAMELLING. T3 

is much more durable, but if one examines both classes 
of work after their having been finished for a like 
period, the truth will be ascertained. As a matter of 
fact, the paint, compared with its former state, will be 
more or less discoloured, while the stained work will 
have changed only to a deeper, richer, and more 
desirable colour. Not only this, the painted window 
shutters may be cracked and blistered, whereas the 
other will likely be in good condition — and this when 
both are employed to stand indoor wear and tear. 

If, on the other hand, stain is simpty used because 
of its cheapness, then durability need not be expected. 
The lowest class of this work is executed in water 
stain, sized one coat, and varnished one coat, and is 
mainly emplo3^ed in common tenement work. Need- 
less to say, if the size is used too strong, its contraction 
and expansion, caused by changes of temperature, 
invariably tends to crack and otherwise disfigure the 
varnish, and, again, if apphed too weak, it causes 
the varnish to dry with little or no lustre. From this 
it follows that great care must be taken in regard to 
the strength of the size, and that this method of stained 
work should only be employed for the puri)ose in- 
dicated. 

In the operation of staining, much depends on 
the class of stain employed. There are five classes, 
namely, water, spirit, oil. varnish, and chemical 
stains, and each of these has its merits and demerits, 
which must be considered when work of any kind is 
to be done to most advantage. 

Water Stain, for instance, has the effect of raising 
the grain of the wood. The pigment, or colouring 
matter, too, belonging to the stain, most frequently 
dries on the surface of the wood treated, hence it 
follows that were it not for the size or other binding 
material, it would easily rub oft with the slightest 
touch of sandpaper or the application of a wet sponge. 
As it is, very little rubbing will bring it oft, and on 
this account, it is not at all a suitable stain for floors 



14 STAINING, VARNISHING, 

and other woodwork liable to much friction. At the 
same time, for certain purposes, it is a valuable stain. 
Owing to its inexpensiveness, it is, as hinted above, 
of much utility in cheap work, and where wood is so 
rough and so soft that an oil stain would be absorbed 
too much, and, in consequence, turn out black, it is 
very valuable. Besides this, it possesses the advantage 
of being a time saver. It can be applied quicker than 
any of the other stains, and work done with it can be 
varnished in half-an-hour. Sometimes it is said ta 
be superior to other stains in depth and transparency, 
but such is certainly not always the case ; indeed, 
seldom, if ever, \^'hen compared with well-made oil 
stain. As this class of stain absorbs varnish to a great 
extent, sizing has to be resorted to before varnishing 
in cheap work. One coat of varnish is deemed sufficient 
in the cheapest work, but for a good job three at least 
are necessary. 

Spirit Stains are also of the quick drying class ; in 
fact, one of their defects is that they dry too quickly. 
In consequence of this, they are difficult to apply 
properly, and, except in skilful hands, are liable to 
become more or less clouded and shady. Indeed, no 
matter how these stains are laid on, if made as the 
painter usually makes them by the addition of semi- 
transparent pigments to spirits, they seldom have the 
transparency of the oil class, and are not so good 
for enhancing the appearance of the wood. If made 
from dyewood or other dye stuffs, they are, however, 
usually quite good in this respect, and penetrate the 
wood almost, though not quite, as deep as oil stains. 
In the former case, the addition of certain pigments 
render the stain thicker than it ought to be. and, in 
consequence, through the quick drying of the spirits, 
the colouring matter is frequently left on the surface. 
In the latter case, the colouring matter is as thin as 
the medium, and has a better chance to penetrate the 
wood. Like the water stains, this class may be used 
with advantage in cheap and hurried work. As in the 



AND ENAMELLING. 15 

other case, a job may be coated with it, sized, and 
varnished — all in the one day, and if it is a little more 
expensive than the other, it has the advantage of 
bearing out better, and thus enhancing the lustre of 
the varnish. It is useful for staining furniture, and 
when such goods are varnished with furniture or hard 
church oak varnish, there is no danger of tackiness — 
a defect that too often prevails when oil stain has been 
used. To get good results, this stain requires three 
coats of varnish, but for cheapest work, one coat, 
even without size, may be thought good enough. On 
close grained, hard wood floors, this stain, generally 
speaking, should not be used, as in such cases it will 
not stand the wear. When it has been applied to 
such wood, size should not be used afterwards, for 
owing to the hard impervious nature of the stain, 
the size fails to get a proper grip, and is liable to scale. 

But the most indispensable stain of the painter 
is that of the oil. It is somewhat slow in drying, 
but this defect, if defect it is, is quite outbalanced 
by its beauty and superior durability. There are oil 
stains and oil stains, and, of course, one may dry in 
half a day, while another will take three times that, 
and 3'et both may be equally durable, but in general 
the slow drying ones are the best. By drying slowly, 
they have more time to penetrate the wood — one of 
the essentials of a stain fitted for hard wear. For 
this reason, it is very serviceable on floors and wains- 
coting, and, even without varnish, will, on the latter, 
stand a moderate amount of usage. Of all stains, 
this is the one most liable to appear dry when it in 
reality is not ; therefore plenty of time should be allowed 
before applying varnish to it, as otherwise tackiness 
may result. In this respect furniture and church 
seats require most attention ; for when tackiness 
occurs, it is more often caused b}' the stain than the 
varnish. This stain may be easv or difficult to work — 
its ease or difliculty of application depending greatly 
on the proportion of oil, drier, and turps, and kind 



i6 STAINING, VARNISHING, 

and quality of pigment. Usually it takes longer to 
apply than water and spirit stains, and this fact, 
combined with its being more expensive, makes it a 
comparatively dear stain, or, rather, appear to be so 
at first. Where wood is to be brought out to best 
effect, and the maximum amount of <lurability is 
desired, this is the stain to use, and is without doubt 
the cheapest in the end. On well seasoned wood, 
if the permanent pigments such as the umbers and 
siennas are used for colouring, it will stand outside. 
Front doors done in this way, and well varnished, 
have a rich appearance which cannot be attained by 
paint. It has also the merit of making a good, durable 
job indoors when onl}^ two coats of varnish have been 
applied, and hence is very useful in the middle class 
villa sort of work as well as in that of the highest class. 

Varnish Stains, again, have a sort of intermediate 
character. They do not penetrate the wood so deeply 
as those just considered, and do not stand so much 
wear, but for certain kinds of work they are none the 
less suitable. As their name denotes, varnish stains 
are simply a mixture of varnish and colouring matter, 
and in a manner fulfil the two processes of staining 
and varnishing at the one time. They are the most 
useful for stopping absorption, but are more difficult 
to rub down than the others, and when deep in colour 
hide the grain of the wood. In good work they are 
not much used, though they are valuable for wood 
streaked with soft parts, as their clearness is not so 
much impaired in such places as that of some other 
stains. 

With Chemical Stains, painters usually have very 
little to do. The one most used in their case is that of 
ammonia, yet there are others which will be spoken 
of later, which would prove equally useful. These 
though almost colourless in themselves, have power to 
change the colour of woods by their chemical action, 
and may often be employed on hard woods, especially 
when any matching or darkening has to be done. 



AND ENAMELLING. i; 

From the painter's point of view, one drawback the 
majority of these have is their solvent action on bristle 
brushes, thus causing fibre brushes, less easy to 
work to be used for apj)lying- them. They also dis- 
colour the finger nails, and almost everything else with 
which they come in contact. 

Besides these stains, there are others belonging 
to one or another of the classes mentioned, but bearing 
special names. Such are Mander's and Stephens' 
stains belonging to the water, and Harlands' and Man- 
der's belonging to the oil, class. These two latter 
are suitable for good v/ork, having, when property 
thinned, easy working qualities combined with trans- 
parency and durabiHty. Napthaline stains also 
belong to the oil class, and are very suitable where 
rich browns and warm yellows are required. Where 
blocks of houses have to be dor- with the same stain, 
the ready-made article saves time that would otherwise 
be lost in matching, and, although the initial outlay 
is greater than that of making the first quantity on the 
job, its use as a time saver pays in the end. 



i8 STAINING, VARNISHING, 



CHAPTER 11. . 

THE MAKING OF OIL STAINS. 

THE MATERIALS. 

When it comes to the making of stains, one thing 
of importance should be noted — inferior materials 
should not be used. Such materials not only lessen 
the permanence, but also lessen the depth and clearness 
of^the stain. This applies to both tinting matter and 
vehicle, but in a special degree to the former. The 
strongest procurable colouring matter should be used 
for this purpose, otherwise so much may have to be 
added to obtain a given tint that the stain may lose its 
stainlike ap)pearance, and become muddy. The 
stronger and more transparent the colouring matter, 
the better will the stain be, for, it stands to reason, 
when much colour has to be used to obtain a given 
tint, the stain made from it must be less transparent 
than another requiring less for the same purpose. If 
size be used in a water stain, too, and be not of the 
best and palest quality, the work suffers more or less. 
Similarly, inferior driers or linseed oil may make an oil 
stain defective. 

Stains, as everyone knows, are made from various 
materials, though their classification is, as here, usually 
based on the liquid employed. Thus oil stains are a 
mixture of boiled or raw linseed oil, turps, some 
terebine or japan gold size, and the colouring matter 
in the form of semi-transparent oil pigments ; while 
water stains are from water, pigments, and size or 



AND ENAMELLING. ig 

other binding material, or are merely aqueous solutions 
made by boiling certain dyestuffs. Varnish stains, 
again, are made from oil varnish and pigments, thinned 
sometimes with a little turpentine, or from spirit 
instead of oil, varnish. Spirits of wine or the cheaper 
methylated spirits with colouring matter produce 
spirit stains. As for the chemical class, the\^ are 
aqueous solutions of such chemicals as permanganate 
of potash, carbonate of soda, and so on. 

But apart from the colour, and the class of stain 
emplo3-ed. the proportion of the ingredients in its 
composition should vary to suit the kind or quality of 
the wood to be coated if the best possible results are 
to be gained. This consideration is of more importance 
than may at first sight appear. If, for example, the 
same stain be a])plied to a hard and a soft wood, the 
former, allowing for difference in surface colour, will 
be much Hghter than the latter. From this it follows 
that to get the same depth of tone on a soft wood, a 
more diluted stain is required. A similar thing may 
be said of close and open grained woods, but in regard 
to thosa of different colour, such as reddish and greyish 
woods, mere thinning of the stains will not give the 
same colour, though it may give a similar depth. 
In such cases the ground so effects the stain that two 
mixtures may be required to bring the woods to an 
identical colour. Supposing cypress and red pine 
happen to be in the same apartment, and are to be 
stained in a certain tint, it is obvious the desired effect 
cannot be attained simply by staining them with an 
identical stain. It is a waste of time to attempt it. 
The proper plan is to make stain that will bring the 
red pine to the natural colour of the cypress, then when 
it is coated and dry, to coat both woods with the stain 
selected. When woods are very dissimilar in colour, 
two thin coats may have to be given to one of them 
previous to finishing, as the transparency is in this 
way better retained than it would be if only one were 
i:i\'en. 



20 STAININ^G, VARNISHING, 

The wood has also to be considered in relation to 
the drying of oil and oil varnish stains. Generally 
hard woods will require rr.ore driers than soft, owing 
to the stain in such cases not being absorbed fully. 
In the case of oak this is p»arth^ due to the wood itself, 
which is anti-drying toward linseed oil. On size or 
other preparatory coating prior to staining^, tliis rule 
should likewise be observed. 

Linseed Oil. — This is the principal vehicle for 
these stains. It penetrates bare wood deeply, and 
forms a valuable fixative for the colouring matter. The 
boiled quality being dark, and liable to become darker 
on exposure to light, should be used mainly for deep 
coloured stains, while the raw, being comparatively 
pale, and liable to become more so, should be relegated 
to the making of light ones. ' In making stains with 
tardily drying pigments, such as Vandyke Brown, 
boiled oil is the better medium, and when such stains 
are to be light a refined quahty may be used. For good 
work these oils should be bright and clear, without the 
least trace of muddiness when shaken, otherwise so 
much of the stain's transparency is lost. 

Turpentine. — As a diluent of the above oils, 
rendering them more transparent, more penetrative, 
and easier to work, this article is essential. All things 
considered, American turpentine is the best for this 
purpose, but any of the better class blended varieties 
containing refined shale, naphtha, or rosin spirit are 
not unsuitable. 

Driers. — This material should always be in the 
liquid form, patent driers or that in the form of powder 
not being suitable, as these needlessly thicken the 
stain, thus lessening its absorption, and transparency. 
Any of the leading makes of liquid driers may be used 
for all work, but care must be taken not to use even 
the best in excess ; for all are contractile to some extent, 
and liable to cause cracking. A recent addition to 
good qualities of these driers is that of Messrs. Sim 
and Son. which is said to be non-cracking. 



AND ENAMELLING. 21 

Japan Gold Size. — This is sometimes mixed with 
oil stain instead of Hquid driers, but in much greater 
proportion. Its use, however, is not recommended, for 
in combination with Unseed oil, it makes stain difficult 
to work, and lessens its penetrative properties. 
When its use is necessary, as in cases of hurried work, 
the oil should be omitted and gold size with turps half 
and half, alone used as thinners. 

Black Japan. — This is a rich, transparent, black 
varnish made from asphaltum, and when thinned with 
turpentine, may be considered as a stain in itself. A 
variety of colours may be obtained by tinting it with 
pigments, but it should be noted that such stains have 
not the brightness of those made from a good linseed oil 
vehicle. Stains made from this material should not be 
employed on other than good wood, if without a pre- 
paratory coating, a uniform appearance is desired. 

Brunswick Black. — The material under this 
name, though much cheaper than the last mentioned, 
also makes effective stains. It is, however, not advisa- 
ble to tint this material. 

Colouring Matter. — This should generally be 
in the form of pigments ground in oil, turps, or japan 
gold size, dry colours of the same class being avoided as 
unsuitable, owing to the difficulty in mixing them. 
The essential condition of colouring material for this 
purpose is that it be of a transparent nature, not 
transparent in the mass, of course, like substances such 
as honey, but when thinned and applied to wood 
To find whether a pigment is transparent, it is only 
necessary to apply a thin coat to a piece of bare 
wood, and to see whether the grain is hidden. Dry 
pigments, too, if transparent, usually assume a deeper 
tint when mixed with oil. The best pigments for 
stains are those which give the deepest colour with the 
least opacity. Various colours ehgible for use in oil 
stams suit this requirement. They comprise : — 

Burnt and raw sienna, burnt and raw umber, 
Vandyke brown, Dutch pink, carmine, madder lake, 



22 STAINING, VARNISHING, 

rose pink, terra vert, verdigris, Prussian blue, ultra- 
marine, blue black, ivory black, crimson lake. 

Besides these there are many others suitable for 
this purpose, though not so frequently used. Various 
lakes made from aniline produce bright, transparent 
pigments, but those already mentioned, though not 
all permanent, are the most durable. 

MIXING THE STAIN. 

In mixing these stains, it is advisable to put the 
thinners into the pot first, then to add the basis, or 
principal colouring matter, and finally any pigment 
that may be required to brings them to the exact tint 
The amount of thinners to be tinted should correspond 
with the quantity of stain required, and it will be found 
by following this method that there is less risk of 
making too much, or, indeed, too little, as often 
happens when the colouring matter is pi}t into the pot 
first. Thinners should be in the proportions of three 
parts linseed oil to one of turpentine with a teaspoonful 
of driers to every pint. When using slow drying 
colours, such as rose pink, hlack:^, siennas, and crimson 
lake, this quantity of driers may be increa^;rd by one 
half. A similar thing may be said in regard to mixing 
these stains for oak or other hard wood. It may be 
observed, too, that stains containing much rose pink 
or crimson lake are liable to work tough, and may re- 
quire an increased proportion of turpentine, but it 
should be remembered that all such additions rendei 
the stain more absorbent to any superimposed coating 
When much tinting has to be done, it is best first to mix 
the pigments with a little thinners in a separate pot ; 
because when added in that form there is little danger 
of the stain turning out darker than was intended. 
Needless to say, these stains, whether light or dark, 
ought always to be strained through hue muslin if good, 
uniform work is to be produced. After straining it will 
be noticed such stains are usuallv darker ; therefore 



AND ENAMELLING. ?3 

they should be mixed a trifle hghter to allow for this 
change. 

Imitative Stains in Oil. — These are meant to 
resemble the colour of the various superior woods after 
they have been pohshed, and if the wood to be treated 
has some natural resemblance to the other, a good effect 
may be obtained. The best way to make these is to 
get the prevalent tone of the wood to be matched, 
then to modify it to the exact tint. The undernoted 
stains may be made with the colouring matter already 
mentioned. Thus : — 

Warm Oak. — Burnt umber or Vandyke brown. 
Cool or Grey Oak. — Raw umber and a little blue 
black. Yellow Oak. — Raw umber or raw umber and 
raw sienna. Rich Oak. — Burnt sienna and black 
Green Oak. — Raw umber and Prussian blue, 
brightened if desired with a little raw sienna. Black 
Oak.— Vandyke brown and ivory black. 

Walnut. — Burnt umber or Vandyke brown with a 
little black and rose pink. 

Mahogany. — Madder lake and Vandyke — rose 
pink and Vandyke — burnt sienna. Many of the bright 
reds now on the market also produce excellent stains 
of this description when toned down with a little 
umber. 

Cherry. ^Burnt sienna. 

Satinwood and Maple. — Raw sienna and a little 
Vandyke brown. Varnish alone will often give the best 
resemblance to this last wood, especially on white pine 
or saugh. 

Rosewood. — Burnt sienna, black, and rose pink. 
Though it is not exactly legitimate as staining, some- 
times, especially on furniture, the veins of this wood are 
also imitated by running the black streaks in with a 
feather. This is most successfully accomplished if bits 
have been cut from the side of the feather so that 
several veins may be put in at once while the under 
stain is flowing wet 



24 STAINING, VARNISHING, 

Ebony. — Ivory black. It should be noted that 
this stain is seldom successful in oil, owing to the fact 
of its obscuring the wood. Those made from chemicals 
are the best for this purpose, but when those in oil are 
requisite two coats of good black japan with a little 
varnish added give a passable result. 

Note. — Both black japan and Brunswick black 
thinned with turps make good oak stains of a brownish 
hue. and the former may be used as the vehicle for the 
dark stains of the preceding list. 

Miscellaneous Stains in Oil. — Many distinct 
stains may be obtained by using the transparent pig- 
ments in various mixtures and proportions. For 
instance, terra vert will produce green which may be 
made yellowish with raw sienna, bluish udth Prussian 
blue, and low toned with umber. In a similar way the 
blue, yellow, red, and brown pigments may be treated. 
The following are examples, the principal colouring 
matter being mentioned first : — 

Cherry Red. — Burnt sienna and crimson lake. 

Claret. — Carmine and a little ultramarine. 

Purple. — Ultramarine and carmine 

Peacock Blue. — Prussian blue and a httle blue 
black. 

Citrine. — Raw umber and Dutch pink. 

Chamois. — Raw sienna and a little terra vert. 

Pale Orange. — Burnt sienna and Dutch pink 

Grey. — Blue black, or Prussian blue and carmine. 

Bottle Green. — Prussian blue, Dutch pink, and 
a little blue black. 

Medium Green. — Prussian blue and raw sienna. 

Olive. — Raw sienna, Prussian blue, and a little 
madder lake. 

Lighter and darker tints of all the foregoing, will, of 
course, be readily produced according to whether much 
or little vehicle is employed with the same amount of 
colouring matter 



AND ENAMELLING. 



CHAPTER III. 
MAKING WATER STAIN. 



MATERIALS. 

Water. — This may be considered as the chief 
medium, although ammonia, beer and other materials 
often act in conjunction with it, or wholly take its place. 
Not having any binding property, its use alone is 
mostly with the natural dyestuffs which bind them- 
selves, and seldom or never with dry pigments. It 
should for stains be clean, and as free as possible from 
lime, as this last substance is detrimental to some 
colours. 

Size. — As a oinder and vehicle for colouring 
matter in the form of dry pigments, this is frequently 
used. Its advantage over some other binding materials 
consists in its power to lessen the absorpency of the 
wood on which the stain may be appHed, consequently 
rendering fewer coats of varnish necessary. When 
dissolved in a suitable proportion of boihng water, the 
best quality of this should be fairly clear Uquid, and yet 
possess strong binding property. If used too strong, 
it is liable to crack, and cause cracking of any coating 
placed over it, therefore the proportion of size need 
never exceed lib. to 40 gills of water — the most suitable 
strength. 

Beer. — This is also used as a binding vehicle, and, 
under certain conditions, is like the last, liable to 
crack. To give the best results, it should be used stale, 
and diluted with its own bulk of water. It is the 
grainer's favourite binding medium. 



26 STAINING, VARNISHING, 

Vinegar. — For fixing, and also preventing the 
fading of water stains, especially when made from 
aniline dyes, this is a most useful article. Being as 
clear as water, it does not in the least mar the trans- 
parency of the stain. Ordinary household vinegar, 
used undiluted, is very suitable for this purpose. This 
article, though much more absorbent than the others 
already mentioned, has no bad effects on top coatings. 

Liquid Ammonia. — For a similar purpose this is 
also useful, but owing to its odour, it is not so suitable 
for painters' stains. In using, the full strength am- 
monia should be diluted with a third of water. This 
does not refer to its use as a chemical stain (which see). 

Silicate of Soda. — This is a valuable vehicle and 
binding medium, possessing all the merits, and none of 
the demerits, of glue size It should be thinned half 
with water before using. 

Carbonate of Soda. — This is the ordinary house- 
hold article used for washing, and as a binding vehicle 
should be used in the proportion of 2lbs. soda to the 
gallon of boiling water. It has no power to lessen 
absorption of any after coatings, but in itself assists in 
darkening hard woods. 

Alum. — In the ground form this is most suitable, 
and may be used in a similar proportion to the last. 

Other Binding Media. — Besides these above, 
there are many others, such as borax, pearlash, and 
various vegetable gums, but those already dealt with 
will be found suitable for all classes of work. If 
desired a special liquid may be made for a similar 
purpose, but it should be noted that it is much more 
expensive. Below is given a recipe for such a liquid. 
It is very useful in cases where the work is to be lelt 
without varnish or other upper coating, as it brightens 
and prevents fading of the stain. 

Dissolve Jib. grain tin and about the same quantity 
of sal-ammoniac in a gallon of strong nitric acid by 
frequent shaking, then let it stand for a day or two 



AND ENAMELLING. 



-^/ 



when it will be fit for use, and may be added in sufficient 
quantity to bind the stain. 

Colouring Matter. — The best materials for 
colouring these stains are natural dyestuffs and aniline 
products. Common dry colours like ochre and umber 
may also be used, and for permanent qualiites cannot 
be excelled, but in water they do not fix so well, nor 
yield the transparency of the other materials. Being 
always in the painter's stock, however, they are at hand 
whenever a water stain is required, a thing that cannot 
be said concerning the first mentioned articles. Aniline 
colours and natural dyestuffs are seldom stocked, but 
there is no sound reason why the best of these should 
not sometimes be utilised by the painter. The follow- 
ing is a list of the principal natural dyestuffs ; they are 
of vegetable origin, and vary in their durability : — 

Turmeric, barberry roots, logwood chips, red 
Saunders wood, fustic chips, madder, orchella wood, 
nut-galls, Barbados aloes, Brazil wood, cam-wood, 
French berries, privet berries, walnut peel or extract, 
broom corn, blueberry, indigo, cutch, catechu, and 
annotta. 

Note. — In conjunction with the above colouring 
matter, some of the binding media such as soda and 
alum are sometimes employed for the purpose of 
altering their tone as well as for that of fixing. Reds 
and blues, for example, may in this way be changed 
into purples. 

Aniline Colours.- — As there is Httle or no uniform 
nomenclature yet adapted by the makers of these 
products, rather than risk any mistakes, it is wise 
either to buy from only one firm, or to get only the 
simple yellow, red, blue, green, and black, and mix 
them together to obtain other tints. There are two 
classes of aniline dye, the one soluble in spirit, the other 
in water, therefore this last can only be used for the 
purpose, and as many of them are more or less liable 
to fade on continued exposure to strong light, only 
those guaranteed fairly permanent should be bought 



28 STAINING, VARNISHING, 

In any case, to counteract this tendency the vehicle 
should be equal quantities of vinegar and water. Messrs. 
Palmer and Co., London, may be recommended as 
vendors of these and the other dyestuffs. 

Painter's Pigments. — When these are used, they 
should either be ground fine in water, or in a well 
pulverised state, so that they may not retard penetra- 
tion of the stain into the wood. Most of the pigments 
mentioned in regard to oil stains are suitable here, as 
are also gamboge and sepia. 

MIXING THE STAIN. 

When these stains are to be mixed with aniline 
dyes or painter's pigments, these colouring materials 
should first be made into a thick paste, then added 
gradually to the vehicle as directed for oil stains. In 
using natural dyestuffs, it is best to make a strong de- 
coction by thoroughly boiling them in a small quantity 
of water or vinegar, as the case may be, mixed with the 
full amount of soda or other mordent required. This 
is done to dissolve or extract the colouring matter. 
Afterwards the exact quantity of boiling or hot water 
necessary to the amount of soda or other article added, 
can be tinted to the required depth. Stains made with 
these colours are best applied hot, and in some cases, 
require little or no binding, even though only boiled 
with water. Binding media for these, it may be noted, 
should never be size or beer, these being better suited 
as pigment binders. In the recipes following, the 
mordent, or binder is, where necessary, mentioned ; if 
not given, none is generally required. 

Imitative Water Stains. — These may be made 
with water or dry pigments similar to those for oil 
stains. Aniline colours may also be used separately or 
in conjunction with each other. Bismark brown, the 
best known aniline colour, produces good oak and 
walnut stains when mixed in suitable proportion with 
aniline blacks and yellows. Such stains may also be 
made with the following materials. Before use, they 
should be strained through fine muslin. 



. AND ENAMELLING. zg 

Oak. — Either gambier or catechu boiled with 
carbonate of soda. If too brown these may be made 
yellower b}^ adding a little barberry root decoction. 

Walnut. — A strong decoction of walnut peel or of 
walnut extract and washing soda. 

Mahogany. — Madder and logwood chips. Madder 
and fustic. These should be prepared as already 
stated, and may be improved by coating over with a 
weak solution of pearlash. 

Satinwood. — Barberry roots boiled in water. 
Turmeric with a little Vandyke brown added if ne- 
cessary. 

Cherry. — Spanish annatto boiled with American 
potash. Strength of the latter should be an ounce to 
half gallon of water. 

Rosewood. — Logwood chips and catechu boiled 
in water. 

Ebony. — Logwood chips. Give two or three 
coats, then finish with a coat of vinegar in which some 
rusty nails have lain. Another is to dissolve gall-nuts 
in vinegar . 

Note. — The above stains may be made by others 
of the dyestuffs in the list. The main thing is, as 
stated in regard to oil stains, to get the prevalent tone 
of the wood to be imitated, then to vary same with 
other colours. Though it is in some ways better to 
stick to the one kind of colouring matter, this is not 
essential, and, as shown in the case of satinwood, dry 
pigments may be used if required in conjunction with 
natural dyestuffs. 

Miscellaneous Stains in Water. — For these 
stains, the permanent aniline colours are most suitable, 
but when the tone desired cannot be had free from 
fugitiveness, dry pigments of the painter's class or 
natural dyestuffs may be resorted to. From this last 
source may be had : — 

Yellow. — Fustic chips boiled in water. French 
berries treated in a similar wav. 



30 STAINING, VARNISHING, 

Red. — Orchella boiled in a solution of pearlash. 
Logwood chips and Brazil wood with preceding solution. 

Purple. — Logwood chips and indigo in above 
solution. The chips should be boiled to extract the 
colour, then the indigo added to give the shade required. 

Green. — Barberry roots or French berries boiled 
in water to which has been added some indigo. 

Blue. — Indigo with a weak solution of alum. The 
common blueberry boiled in water with alum and 
copperas also gives a blue. 

Rich Brown. — Cutch with soda solution. 

Note. — A variety of shades and in some cases even 
tones may be produced by treating the same colouring 
matter with different mordants. Thus logwood when 
boiled with strong vinegar, or acetic acid, assumes a 
bright red, while if treated with the addition of an 
alkah such as soda, a violet is obtained. 



AND ENAMELLING. 



CHAPTER IV. 

MAKING SPIRIT VARNISH AND CHEMICAL 
STAINS. 

MAKING SPIRIT STAINS. 

MATERIALS. 

Spirits of Wine and Methylated Spirits. — 
These , are the only vehicles used in making spirit 
stains. The first, being a form of pure alcohol, dis- 
solves such substances as dragon's blood, much 
quicker than the last does ; hence is more suitable 
when such colouring matter is used. Apart from this, 
however, there is but little practical difference between 
the two, and therefore the cheaper form is more 
frequently used. 

Colouring Matter. — The most suitable 
materials for tinting with are the aniline dyes and the 
natural dyestuffs. Most of the latter given in connec- 
tion with water stains may be employed, and to those 
may be added cochineal, dragon's blood, and alkanet 
root. Whenever possible, though, it is advisable to use 
the more lasting of the anilines, as anihne colours, 
besides being brighter, are easier to mix than the 
natural dyestuffs. Painters' powder pigments may 
also be used, but, owing to the greater miscibility of 
the others they should only be employed when the 
desired colour cannot be obtained with the other 
materials. It should be noted too that pigments 
ground in oil do not combine readily with the spirit 
vehicle, and on that account are ineligible. 



32 STAINING, VARNISHING, 

MIXING THE STAIN. 

The colouring matter should be mixed with a 
small quantity of spirit, then gradually added to the 
amount of vehicle necessary. When the material is 
difficult to mix, and, as in the case of certain dye- 
stuffs, has to be dissolved, frequent shaking and the 
addition of heat may be required. When the latter is 
necessary, a greater quantity of spirit should, of 
course, be added to the colouring matter, and great 
care taken not to allow any flames to come in contact 
with the heated vapour proceeding therefrom. The 
safest plan is to put the materials — colouring matter 
and liquid, into a clean flask, then to heat it gradual!}^ 
over a closed fire, shaking it at intervals until dis- 
solved. 

Imitative Spirit Stains. — These may be made 
by using similar colours to those already indicated for 
imitative oil and water stains. As dragon's blood, 
cochineal, and alkanet root are not mentioned in those 
lists, it may be added that these make good red and 
mahogany stains, and may be used alone or in con- 
junction with other materials. 

Miscellaneous Stains. — These are best made 
with aniline dyes ; for, besides other advantages, the 
desired tint may frequently be obtained in this way by 
using only one colour. Thus if a magenta is required, 
an aniline colour of that name may be bought, and 
used without admixture. The older colours mentioned 
under preceding stains, though not so handy, are also 
useful, but need not be given here. 



MAKING VARNISH STAINS. 

Materials. 

Oil Varnish and Spirit Varnish. — The former 
is the proper vehicle to use, although the latter is 
employed quite as often. Stains made from the oil 
varnish are superior in durability and lustre to those 



AND ENAMELLING. 33 

made from the other medium ; hence when good work 
has to be executed with varnish stains, the former 
should have the preference. For medium and dark 
coloured stains, the ordinary oak and copal oil 
varnishes and brown spirit varnishes are suitable, but 
for hght tints pale copal and white spirit varnishes are 
best. Sometimes for Jight stains, the dark varnishes 
are made lighter by thinning with turps or spirits of 
wine, but this is not recommended, as the lustre is 
then so much reduced that even with two or three 
coats the work can hardly be said to be varnish stained. 

Colouring Matter. — When an oil varnish is the 
vehicle, the best tinting materials are the transparent 
pigments ground in oil ; while if the spirit vehicle is 
used, aniline dyes and other dvestuffs are preferable. 
Dry pigments, as usually employed by the painter, 
being liable to cause grittiness, should be avoided in 
both cases. 

MIXING THE STAIN. 

There is not any difficulty in making oil varnish 
stains, the varnish chosen simply being coloured to the 
required tint. Spirit varnish, on the other hand, 
requires the colouring matter to be mixed first with 
spirits or naphtha before being added; otherwise, owing 
to the shellac contained in the varnish, there may be 
a diificulty in tinting it. As stains made from the 
latter varnish are really spirit stains with the addition 
of shellac, it follows that the directions already given 
under that heading apply almost equally here. 

Imitative Varnish Stains. — The colours stated 
to be suitable for imitative oil stains are also suitable 
for these when the oil varnish medium is used. With 
the other vehicle, the colouring matter — anilines and 
other dyestuffs, already mentioned under other imita- 
tive stains, are most useful. 

Miscellaneous Stains — Colours already indicat- 
ed for making certain oil and water stains of this type 
may likewise be used with the varnish vehicles. 



34 STAINING, VARNISHING, 

MAKING CHEMICAL STAINS. 

The chemical agents employed for this purpose 
usually require mixing with water. They are of two 
kinds. One has to be dissolved, then diluted ; the 
other may be diluted at once. To the former class 
belongs permanganate of potash ; to the latter, sub- 
stances such as nitric acid. In mixing these stains the 
chief difficulty is to know when the desired strength for 
a given tint is obtained. So much depends on the 
kind and quality of wood to be treated that it is always 
best to coat a similar piece of wood, and to allow it to 
dry before proceeding with the work ; as otherwise, 
unless one has much experience in making such stains, 
unsatisfactory results are liable to accrue. This class 
of stain generally dries much darker than when applied, 
and for this reason should on application appear much 
lighter than the required tint. It is advisable to make 
only the exact quantity needed for any given piece of 
work, but in events of making more, it may be kept 
safely in earthenware jars tightly corked with gutta 
percha stoppers. Owing to their chemical action on 
metal, these stains should also be put into earthenware 
pots when they are to be used. Below are given some 
useful staining chemicals : — 

Permanganate of Potash. — On the majority of 
woods this gives an excellent brown stain inchning to 
an oak hue, and when applied to ash a superior imita- 
tion of oak difficult to detect. Stains made from this 
are much used for darkening oak and other hard woods 
when used as furniture, wainscoting, or flooring. When 
first applied this stain has a crimson appearance 
which eventually dries off. A medium tint is procured 
by using three ounces of potash to half a gallon of water. 

Bichromate of Potash. — This makes stains of a 
slightly yellower hue than the preceding when applied 
to most woods, but gives to elm, ash, and beech a 
greyish tinge, not given by the other. Generally 
speaking, however, these two chemicals are much alike. 



AND ENAMELLING. 35 

Nitric Acid. — When diluted with from four to 
eight parts of water, this material gives good yellow 
stains, and when stronger, stains of a reddish or 
brownish yellow — the exact tint depending on the 
wood. Like those mentioned above, this is a per- 
manent stain. 

Sulphuric Acid. — A yellow stain is also given by 
this when diluted, but when used full strength or 
nearly so, browns. On one of the most favoured 
woods for building purposes — red pine — this gives 
when used in certain proportions a beautiful neutral 
grey. The application of heat to wood while wet 
with it, also produces a black or ebony stain. 

Lime. — For giving mahogany the appearance of 
age, and darkening some varieties of walnut, this is an 
effective material. 

Carbonate of Soda, Pearlash, and Potash. — 
Strong solutions of these, either alone or in combination, 
produce useful stains for oak, walnut, and mahogany. 

Besides these many other chemicals are useful for 
staining, such as nitrate of silver, sulphate of iron and 
of copper, picric acid, and so on. The tannin con- 
tained in tea, and the caffeine in coffee also furnish 
stains of a brownish hue when applied in concentrated 
solutions to hard woods. Sometimes to get a par- 
ticular effect, it is advisable, indeed, necessary, to use 
more than one chemical. Thus : — 

Blue. — Copper filings, nitric acid, pearlash. The 
first is dissolved in the second, then applied to the 
wood. Afterwards a coat of pearlash solution (4 
ounces to the quart of water) is apphed to bring the 
wood to a blue. Sulphate of copper and oil of vitriol 
mixed in the proportions of eight sulphate and one 
vitriol also give a blue colour. 

Green. — Sulphate of copper and a Httle bichro- 
mate of potash mixed in sufficient water. 

Ebony. — One of the most durable and transparent 
ebony stains is produced by applying to wood a solu- 
tion of chlorhydrate of anihne to which has been added 



36 STAINING, VARNISHING, 

a little chloride of copper, then when dry, coating with 
bichromate of potash. This process may have to be 
repeated two or three times, as much depends on the 
wood under treatment. — Boil logwood extract in 
water, then add yellow chromate of potash. This 
makes a purplish colour which turns black on applica- 
tion. — A coat of logwood solution followed by one of 
iron sulphate. — Any durable black writing fluid may 
also be employed. It should be noted that apple, 
pear, chestnut, hazel, and sycamore are the most 
suitable woods for ebonising. 

Note. — As some of the chemicals mentioned are 
very poisonous great care must be exercised in using 
them. 

Ammonia. — As a chemical stain this hquid may be 
applied direct to the wood with a brush or indirect by 
fumigation — letting the fumes act indirectly on the 
wood. When it is laid on with a brush the result is 
never quite satisfactory ; therefore the latter process is 
generally preferred. Though some other woods may 
be fumed, oak and mahogany are the woods that 
are usually treated. The process is as follows : — 

To fumigate, say, a wainscoted dining-room, it is 
essential first of all to make the woodwork clean, then 
to make the apartment absolutely airtight. Without 
these two precautions, the fuming will be unequal and 
unsatisfactory. Any grease, or even finger marks, 
however slight, prevent the ammonia from acting, 
thereby causing light spots to appear in the finish ; 
while any outlet for air allows the fumes to escape and 
causes unequal fuming. After these preliminaries, 
two or three soup plates filled with the liquid should 
be placed in the middle of the room, and ahowed to 
act. The door may then be made airtight from the 
outside by pasting paper round the edges. After an 
interval of ten hours or so, the room should be looked 
into to see whether the wood is sufiiciently dark, and if 
not, the door should at once be closed again. In 
judging whether the work is dark enough, it must be 



AND ENAMELLING. 3; 

remembered that it will eventually dry out a shade 
or two hghter ; therefore due allowance must be made 
As soon as the process is finished, the ammonia should 
be removed, and all windows flung open to stop 
further action. The best plan is to close the room at 
night, and allow the ammonia to act till the next 
morning. When small articles have to be treated 
they may be placed in an airtight box containing a 
glass pane through which the progress of the work may 
be watched. It need hardly be stated that fumiga- 
tion gives oak a dull brownish appearance which 
would naturally come to it by age. and which is retained 
at any shade by oihng, waxing, or pohshing. 



38 STAINING, VARNISHING, 



CHAPTER V. 

PREPARATORY TREATMENT PREVIOUS 
TO STAINING. 

NEW WOOD. 

Sandpapering. — If the wood is perfectly smooth 
and clean, this operation is seldom necessary, but if it 
feels rough when passed over with the hand, or has a 
raised grain, then it should be given a slight rub. 
No. O is best for this purpose, and to use it skilfully it 
should be held quite flat against the wood, and rubbed up 
and down the grain with an equal pressure. Special 
care must be taken never to rub across any part of the 
grain ; for if this is done, and the stain be then applied 
on the bare wood, such parts will turn out darker than 
the remainder. Tops, bottoms, and corners of panels 
should be well gone into, but rubbed in the same 
manner as the rest of the work — with the grain. To 
obviate the risk of scratching, the wood should be 
thoroughly dusted previous to rubbing. In treating 
large surfaces, a flat piece of cork five by two and a 
half inches is very suitable to wrap the sandpaper 
round so as to secure level contact with the wood. 

Treatment of Dirty Wood. — Sandpapering 
will frequently remove dirty marks, but care must be 
taken not to abrade the surface by undue pressure at 
such parts. A better plan is to wipe them with a 
linen rag dipped in turpentine, or what is preferable, 
benzine. When marks are of a sooty character a 
sponge dipped in soapy water, and applied lightly, will 



AND ENAMELLING. 59 

often do good. They should, of course, be sponged 
with cold water afterwards, and allowed to drv before 
staining, stopping absorption, or fiUing. 

Treatment of Lime-covered Wood. — 
Frequently when a new house is being plastered some 
of the woodw^ork gets covered with lime spots. These 
the plasterer may brush off so that the painter may 
not notice they had existed, but when the work is 
stained, at least, without any preparatory coating, a 
number of dark spots become visible, due to the Hme 
having effected the wood by chemical action. When 
there is any risk of lime spots having been present, the 
wood should be sponged all over with clean water, then 
given a coat of vinegar. This prevents such spots, 
and gives the stain a uniform appearance. When the 
work is visibly covered with lime, it should be well 
brushed off, but not sandpapered off, as such a method 
of procedure rubs the hme in, and makes matters 
w^orse. If the wood is rough, sandpapering may be 
done after the sponging has dried, and previous to 
coating with vinegar. 

Treatment of Oil Marked Wood. — When wood 
is spotted with oil or grease, the spots almost in- 
variably turn out lighter than desired, and often to 
the complete detriment of the finished work. To 
remedy these, rub well with a little benzine, and 
finish off with a rag dipped in fine whiting. 

STOPPING ABSORPTION. 

When wood is of bad quality, poorly dressed, or it 
is desired to make it of an absolutely uniform tint, or to 
lessen the number of finishing coats, this operation is 
resorted to. Any of the undernoted materials may be 
used for the purpose : — 

Glue Size. — Owing to its cheapness and speed in 
application, nothing is used so frequently as this. If 
used too strong, however, it has a tendency to expand 
and contract under changes of temperature, and may 
induce cracking of stain or varnish placed over it. A 



4C STAINIXG. VARNISHING, 

satisfactory strength to use is that of forty gills water 
to the lb. of size. It should be applied in a warm 
condition so as to adhere and penetrate well, and 
reduce the risk of too thick a coating being laid on, 
which through time would probably peel off. The 
coat on the mouldings especially must be thin, and 
well wdped out with a fitch, as it is in such parts that 
the size is most liable to lie thickly. 

Spirit Varnish. — For completely seahng the 
pores of the finer woods, this material is useful, but 
stains do not adhere to it so well as to some other 
stoppers. The palest quality should always be used if 
the best result is desired. 

Proof Priming Varnish. — This speciahty made 
by Smith and Rodger of Glasgow fulfils the functions 
of the last mentioned article, and has the additional 
advantage of being cheaper. 

Japan Gold Size and Turps. — To assist the 
production of even staining on soft or sappy wood, 
these when used half and half, prove excellent. It 
dries quickly, and is not detrimental to upper coat- 
ings. Being readily sandpapered smooth, it is 
suitable for good work. 

Oil Varnish. — In many ways this is the best for 
the purpose indicated. It should be thinned with a 
little turpentine so as to rub down easily when dry. 
The depth of oil stains when applied over this is much 
increased, and afterwards when varnished, still more 
so. Varnish for this purpose should be a good church 
oak, and not too dark. 

Note. — The foregoing are more or less suitable 
beneath all stains except those made from chemicals. 

FILLERS AND FILLING IN. 

Fillers. — These are for filHng, and thus making 
level the pores in wood, and are analogous to the 
filling up used in connection with painting. They are 
mainly used for coarse open woods, such as oak and 
ash, but are also well adapted for giving high class 



AND ENAMELLING. /{i 

finishes to the commoner woods which have frequently 
to be stained by the painter. For these latter, or soft 
woods, a hquid^ form of filler is usually employed, and 
for the others, or hard woods, a paste form. Such 
fillers ready for use may be bought from the various 
varnish manufacturers, but can also be made at the 
job or in the workshop. The fillers should, of course, 
be tinted to match the colour of the wood or the stain 
upon which they are to be laid if these are medium or 
dark coloured, but in other cases, tinting is not 
required. Dry colours, such as yellow ochre, umber, 
lamp black, and Venetian red are usually employed for 
this purpose, but if a stain has been applied previous 
to fining, the colouring matter of it — if not a chemical — 
is quite suitable. Below is given the composition of 
some useful fillers, but without any colouring matter : — 
(i) Finely ground plaster of Paris and methylated 
spirits or water. These ingredients should not be 
mixed into a paste, for they are best used separately. 

(2) Cornflour, one part boiled oil, two parts turps, 
and a httle Japan gold size, mixed to a suitable con- 
sistency. 

(3) Pulverised whiting and turpentine. 

(4) Russian tallow mixed with whiting. 

(5) China clay, a little patent driers, and boiled 
linseed oil mixed to a pasty condition, then thinned 
with turpentine. 

(6) Ground quartz mixed with one third each of 
Japan gold size, turps, and boiled oil. 

Filling In. — The operation of filhng in may be 
performed on the bare wood, or after the application of 
stain to its surface. Sometimes before filhng in on 
bare wood, a preliminary rub with a rag dipped in 
linseed oil is given, so as to make the filler adhere, but 
except in the case of whiting and turpentine filler, this 
is not necessary. When fillers are thinned for the 
finer grained woods, they should be applied with a 
brush, but when used in the paste form, a hncn rag is 
more suitable. In either case after the filler has stood 



42 STAINING, VARNISHING, 

a sufficient time to set, the surplus should be rubbed 
thoroughly off the surface with rags or tow. This 
rubbing should be across the grain so that it may rub 
the filler into the pores while taking the remainder off 
the surface. After the filler has hardened properly, 
say, at earliest, next day, the work must be well 
sandpapered and dusted, any hard surplus filler in the 
quirks of mouldings being picked out with short sharp 
pointed or wedge-shaped pieces of wood previous to 
the operation. After this is completed, the wood is not 
quite smooth and level, filling in will have to be 
resorted to again. For a high class finish on coarse 
wood, this operation may have to be gone through 
several times. 

The above is the manner of using fillers in general, 
but when plaster of Paris and methylated spirits are 
used, they should be placed in separate dishes, and the 
spreading rag dipped into the spirits, then dabbed 
into the plaster, and applied. As this filler sets 
quickly, rubbing off should be commenced immediately 
after treating a yard or two. 

Note. — As a filler for plain varnish work on pine 
wood, varnish itself used undiluted, and properly 
rubbed down, gives a satisfactory result, as also does 
several coats of French polish on wood which is 
eventually to be polished. The main difference 
between these and other fillers is that these are more 
expensive. 

PUTTYING. 

This is generally carried out by the painter after 
staining, but sometimes it is advantageous to putty 
first. When wood has to be stained, and left in that 
condition without any further finish, the latter treat- 
ment is the best, as the putty is then stained in with 
the wood, and sure to be of a uniform tint, rendering 
nail holes and bad joinings almost, if not, invisible. 
In puttying on the bare wood there is in unskilful 
hands a risk of marking around the parts puttied by 
letting the putty touch the surface of the wood, thus 



AND ENAMELLING. 43 

causing an oil mark which dries out hght when stained, 
owing to the stain not being absorbed properly there. 
To do this part successfully, only the tip of the putty 
knife should be used in conjunction with just sufficient 
putty to fill a nail hole at" a time, and care taken to 
place the putty exactly in its place without touching 
the surface of the adjoining wood. A similar manner 
of puttying is, of course, necessary even in puttying 
on the top of the stain when the latter is not to be 
varnished or poUshed. It may be observed that putty 
for use in stain work should be tinted much darker 
than the stain so that when the stained work darkens 
with age both putty and stain may be ahke. Oil 
putty is generally used for this purpose, but for water 
stains, that made from two parts whiting to one of 
plaster of Paris is best. 

THE TREATMENT OF OLD WOODWORK. 

Painted Wood. — When it is desired to stain 
this, the paint must first be thoroughly cleaned off 
with a good paint remover. This process is slow, and, 
especially on mouldings and other recessed parts, 
many appHcations of remover may be required before 
the surface is quite clean. When this has been 
successfully accompHshed, though, the wood should 
be bleached by applying a weak solution of oxahc 
acid, letting it remain on over night, then washing off. 
After the wood has dried, the grain should be sand- 
papered down, and any white putty in nail holes and 
other parts touched up with a httle stain or even paint 
to match the general appearance of the wood previous 
to filling in, staining, and so on. 

Varnished and Polished Wood. — Common 
woods that have simply been varnished, if not too dark 
in colour, only require a prehminary cleaning by 
washing, and a rub down to form a good ground for 
staining. If the varnish is too dark, however, it must 
first be removed bv using strong ammonia or a paint 



44 STAIxNING, VARNISHING, 

solvent. Afterwards to still further lighten the wood, 
bleaching may be necessary. Polished woodwork 
which is to be stained may be treated in a similar way, 
but when removal of the polish is necessary, methylated 
spirits or a paint solvent is used, and never ammonia. 
Weather Stained Oak. — It frequently happens 
that an oak front door becomes badly blackened and 
marked by the weather, and requires to be stained, 
varnished, or oiled. In such a case, the work must 
first be thoroughly cleaned by applying a solution of 
pearlash, letting it remain on for a short time, then 
when the varnish or oil has softened, washing the 
whole thing down. Afterwards oxalic acid should be 
applied if the wood is not light enough, and w^hen this 
has been washed off, and the surface properly dried 
and sandpapered, the finishing may be commenced. 



AND ENAMELLING. 45 



CHAPTER VL 
STAINING. 

GENERAL APPLICATION. 

To apply stains properly speed and good brush 
work are essential. For the production of good work 
these are necessary in all classes of staining, but more 
especially in spirit and varnish staining, as in such 
cases, owing to the quick setting of the vehicle employ- 
ed, little time is given for appHcation. Speed, of 
course, is very much a matter of individual energy and 
practice, while good brushwork is very much a matter 
of method. At any rate, in regard to speed, it is 
always best to apply stains as quickly as possible 
unless they are positively known to be of a slow setting 
nature. One safe and useful plan in applying stain is 
to think of it as flat paint, and to adapt the method of 
procedure that would be adapted for it. Thus, in 
doing an architrave, the work should be commenced at 
the bottom of the right hand side, continued to the 
top, then across that part, and finally down the other 
side to the opposite bottom. This prevents any 
laps, as the work is continued from beginning to end 
without a break — one essential condition to all good 
staining. On large panels the avoidance of laps, or, in 
other words, dark brush marks due to working over 
stain after it has set, is with a quick setting stain very 
difficult. The usual method of doing a panel by first 
coating the mouldings, then doing the remainder, 
though quite suitable in general, is not satisfactory in 
such cases.. The best way of using a quick stain on 
such surfaces is to run a small toolful along the right 
hand side of the panel close to the moulding, then to 



46 STAINING, VARNISHING, 

take a large brushful, and apply it close to the edge of 
the last application, and so on, till the other side is 
reached, taking the precaution to finish off each 
brushful as soon as it is laid on. This finishing off need 
be no more than a light crossing of the stain with a 
light finishing up and down stroke immediately after. 
This is very simple, yet through lack of thinking on 
such a method the writer has seen a good workman 
spoil the panels of an important room. To coat around 
mouldings, then apply a brushful to the middle of the 
panel, and, in consequence, have to keep two edges 
going, is obviously an inferior method of working, and 
especially is this so when each brushful is not finished 
off at once, and the whole panel is coated over with 
the expectation that it may afterwards be satisfactorily 
crossed and laid off. When laps do occur, however, 
whether on panels or elsewhere, their appearance may 
be improved to some extent by scraping the brush dry, 
then rubbing the defective parts with the side, or by 
wiping lightly with a rag free from fluff. 

The amount of stain to be applied varies. 
Generally speaking, bare wood requires a fuller coat 
than prepared wood, but whatever amount is applied to 
one part of the same work should be applied to the 
other ; for otherwise, if the wood is all alike, different 
shades will result. When applying much stain, 
especially on prepared wood, great care must be taken 
in finishing the tops and bottoms of panels, as such> 
places are liable to appear lighter than the rest owing 
to the brush partly drawing the stain away in finishing 
off. To prevent this, the brush should be swept 
lightly upwards towards the moulding and downwards 
toward the bottom, taking care in doing so not to 
make a brush mark where the brush first strikes the 
panel. The tool, needless to say, should be held 
lightly and gUded or skimmed over the stain just with 
sufficient pressure to give an equal appearance to the 
defective parts. A broad fitch or a flexible sashtool 
may be used for this purpose if the panels are small. 



AND ENAMELLING. 47 

but otherwise a good class, thin toed varnish brush is 
the best. In regard to this last defect, it should be 
borne in mind that it is more liable to occur on the top 
of varnished wood and non-absorbent surfaces, and 
when a slow setting stain is employed. 

Staining a Door. — The architrave should first be 
done, then the top and bottom panels with their 
respective mouldings, and finally the door thickness 
and stiles. In doing these last, it is safest to begin with 
the bottom upright centre stile, then to do the top 
centre one, next the lock rail, and lastly, the top and 
bottom rails and outside stiles in the order mentioned. 
If the stain is quick setting it is advisable to coat each 
part of the stiles without touching the neighbouring 
pafts, as such touches invariably set before the parts 
can be stained completely. This may readily be done 
by running along the joinings with a small tool, then 
filling in the rest of that special portion. When 
staining can be done without this precaution, it, of 
course, means an increase in speed, but it must not be 
forgotten that in such cases, the small amount of stain 
which has been applied beyond the one particular rail 
under treatment should at once be brushed in the 
direction of the surface it has for the time being 
encroached upon. To do so gives the stain a better 
chance of turning out well, and causes very little 
extra work. 

Skirtings and Margins. — The first may be done 
similar to the manner recommended for architraves, 
but unless with a very slow stain, no more than three 
feet should be coated at a time ; that is to say, the top 
and bottom of the skirtings should not be cut in the 
whole length, and then filled in ; it should rather be cut 
and filled in by degrees, otherwise lapping may accrue. 
Something similar applies to margins ; in the case of 
broad ones only, two or three planks should be taken 
along at a time. In staining these it should always be 
contrived to finish up at the entrance door ; as then, 
the last brushfuls may be spread from the outside o f 



^8 STAINING, VARNISHING, 

the room, and thus prevent stepping over the margin 
when finished. 

Staining and Wiping Plain Work. — This is 
employed when the figure of wood is to be brought out 
to the fullest extent, and in sharp contrast. Plain 
even grained woods whether hard or soft are of little 
use for this purpose, but woods like red and pitch 
pine give excellent results. A full coat of stain 
is applied in the usual way, then while flowing wet is 
wiped off with rags. By this means the harder parts of 
the grain are made lighter than the other parts, due to 
difference in the absorbing power of each. As there 
is not any risk of laps or brush marks by this 
method, it is very suitable for large surfaces. Oil 
stains are best suited for this kind of work, and give 
the best results if coloured unlike the wood. In this 
latter respect, green and bhi^ stains are preferable to 
yellow ones. 

Staining and Wiping Relief Material. — The 
material must first be grounded with a suitable colour. 
Ordinary oak grounds are very well adapted for the 
majority of stains, although for special effects any 
coloured ground may be employed so long as it is kept 
much lighter than the stain. After the work has been 
sized, and grounded — preferably with varnish colour, 
the staining is commenced. This rnay be in either 
water or oil stain, but in the latter case, the wiping 
should not take place till the stain has partly set, and 
in ths former, not till it has dried. To do the wiping a 
bit of cloth is rolled round the thumb, and applied to 
the heights so as to remove the stain almost wholly, yet 
not quite. Round the edges as it were of the heights 
the cloth should then be passed lightly so as to soften 
any hard lines that may have been formed by the first 
wiping. After this, the whole surface may be gently 
dabbed with the cloth, but such effects, or those 
resembling them, may also be obtained by heavy 
stippling before the stain has set, and previous to 



AND ENAMELLING. .19 

wiping. When water stain is used a wet chamois takes 
the place of a cloth. 

UNIQUE EFFECTS IN STAINING. 

When the common appear.mce of stained w u-k is 
undesirable, various uncommon effects may be ob- 
tained by dabbing, mottling, stippling, or othervvise 
working on the stain. Thus : — 

Mottled Work. — To get this effect a coat of 
light stain should be applied, allowed to dry, then 
coated with a darker stain of similar colour, and, while 
flowing wet, dabbed all over with a coarse sponge, or 
treated with a mottler, and finally softened off with a 
hog hair softener. 

Marled Effect. — This may be obtained in a 
manner sim.ilar to that mentioned abo^^e, but instead of 
stains of one colour two of different colours are em- 
ployed. A better way, however, is first to varnish the 
wood, then when it has dried to place small splashes 
of the various coloured stains here and there, and to 
soften them together just sufficiently to remove any 
risk of ridges or running. 

Blended Effect. — To stop absorption, and 
prevent the stains from setting too quickly, the worl^ 
should first be varnished. After this two stains, say, 
an amber and a green, are applied to the work, one 
five or six inches from the tops and bottoms of each 
panel, and the other between the patches thus formed, 
then at once blended together with a softener or run 
together with a flogger. In this way various blended 
effects may be got. A strip of stain an inch or two 
broad may be run round the inside or outside of the 
panels, and blended into the other, or strips may be 
placed at the junctions of the stiles and cross rails, and 
there treated. 

Stippled Effect. — This should also be done on 
a varnished ground, and simply consists in heavy stip- 
pling of the stain. Only close woods with little pro- 
minence of grain are suitable for this treatment. 



50 STAINING, VARNISHING, 

Carved Work Effect. — An effect somewhat 
resembling the appearance of carved wood may be had 
by stencilhng in varnish on the bare wood a heavy 
fohage pattern, then immediately softening the edges 
with a flat hog hair fitch, and when dry coatmg over 
with thin oak stain, and stippling. Particular atten- 
tion must be given to the blending of the sharp edges 
of the varnish into the surrounding ground, for the 
cut out effect mainly depends on the skill with which 
it is done. 

THE FINISHING OF STAINS. 

Though oil, varnish, and chemical stains are 
sometimes left without further treatment, they, like the 
others, are usually treated in some way. This finishing 
of stained work is a means of increasing its durability 
and effect. Among the modes of finishing practised by 
the painter are the following : — 

Wax Polishing.— This consists in applying to the 
work a thin coat of wax dissolved in turpentine, then 
when it has dried, rubbing it with a fibre scrubbing 
brush, or one made specially for the purpose, and 
lastly with coarse cloth until a polish is obtained. 
The composition is made by taking some good yellow 
beeswax, shredding it finely into a little turpentine 
{not substitute), and melting over the fire, or by simply 
melting the cut wax in a pan over the fire, then adding 
the turpentine after the pan has been lifted off. This 
last method, being much less dangerous, is recommended 
The mixture should be allowed to cool before being 
applied to the work, and if too thick may be diluted 
with more turps. When two or three men are working 
with wax in the same apartment it is not only necessary 
to see that the fluidity of the material is the same in 
each case, but also that a similar amount is being 
applied, otherwise different results will follow. As a 
general rule, the polish should be used thin on all fine, 
even grained woods, and thick on all the coarse, open 
grained varieties. 



AND ENAMELLING 5[ 

Oiling. — This process is often resorted to for 
mahogany table tops, and bringing out the grain of 
woods such as pitch pine, but may also be employed on 
any wood which has been oil stained. Boiled linseed 
oil is the material, and is simply rubbed into the work 
with a rag until the oiliness is almost imperceptible to 
the touch. Various rubbings are required at intervals 
of a day or so until a dull egg-shell polish is attained. 

Flat and Oil Varnishing. — Where a dull, and 
inexpensive finish is desired, flat varnish is usually used, 
but where a lustrous and highly durable finish is 
wanted, the oil quality holds sway. As, however, 
these two materials, and their mode of application are 
dealt with later, no more need be written here con- 
cening them. 

French Polishing. — This operation is seldom 
practised to any extent by the decorator, hand rails 
being usually the only things done by him, more im- 
portant work being, for the most part, relegated to the 
French polisher. As, however, hand rails are not al- 
together unimportant, and little is known about the 
operation among some decorators, the following in- 
structions may be useful. When the work has been 
coated, preferably with a spirit or chemical stain, the 
initial operation called " bodying in " should be com- 
menced by applying French polish lightly across the 
grain of the wood with a piece of thick flannel or a 
pad of cotton wool covered with calico. The appli- 
cation should be done quickly, and care taken not to 
go over the same surface twice ; for if this be done, 
and the polish happens to have set, there is a danger 
of picking up the film and causing rough ridges, detri- 
mental to the finish. When this coating has hardened 
and been sandpapered, others should be applied until 
they are found to bear out with a uniform surface fit 
to receive the " spiriting off," or finishing process. Th^'s 
consists in taking a new and perfectly clenn rubber of 
cotton wool, dipping it into a half-and-half mixture of 
methylated spirit and polish, then covering it with a 
double ply of cotton, and rubbing the work over with 



52 STAINING, VARNISHING, 

the pad thus formed. This process must be gone 
through several times, each time dilutmg the mixture 
with spirit until nothing but spirit is being used, and a 
fine, smooth, uniform lustre results. This part of ^he 
work should be done lightly, and each rubbmg con- 
tinued until the surface is dry, special care being taken 
not to moisten the work too much, and not to rub hard 
until finishing off the last time. 



AND ENAMELLING. S3 



CHAPTER VII. 

VARNISHES AND THEIR USES. 

V^arnishes may be roug-hly divided into three 
classes, water, oil, and spirit, according- to the vehicle 
employed in the process of making-. The latter two, 
embracing- the principal varnishes used by the painter, 
may be sub-divided into hard and elastic varnishes, 
althoug-h there is, of course, no hard and fast line be- 
tween the two qualities. There are not any hard var- 
nishes without some deg-ree of elasticity, nor any elastic 
ones without some amount of hardness ; yet such 
terms, though in reality comparative, are nevertheless 
most useful and appropriate as denoting- the suitability 
of varnishes for different purposes. Spirit and church 
oak varnishes are types of the hard drying- qualities, 
outside copals of the elastic. Owing- to this difference 
in elasticity, the latter type should never be placed 
under the former, as in such cases their g-reater expan- 
sion and contraction would be liable to cause cracking- 
of the upper surface. When there is any doubt as to 
the comparative hardness of two varnishes which have 
to be used one under the other, it is a safe plan to add 
a small percentag-e of turps to the under one ; or, as 
an alternative, to rub it out very sparingly, and allow 
it to harden thoroug-hly for at least a week before 
finishing-. A test in such cases is to apply a coat of 
each to different pieces of tin, allowingr them to harden 
for a day or two, then scratching- with the thumb nail 
to see which is harder or bending- the tin to see which 
is more elastic. The need of such procedure is avoided, 
however, if a similar brand of the same maker is used 
right through. 



54 STAINING, VARNISHING, 

Apart from these qualities, the colour of varnishes 
is also of importance. Certain varnishes are not suita- 
ble for application over certain colours. It should not 
simply be a matter of having- a varnish suitable for a 
g-iven colour at a g-iven time, but one of having- it per- 
manently so ; for apparently suitable varnishes in this 
respect may turn dark in a few weeks or months, and, 
as a result, disfig-ure, it may be, g-ood craftsmanship. 
This is particularly applicable to varnishes chosen for 
applying- over delicate tints. In all such cases either the 
makers g-uarantee should be asked, or the material 
should be tested for a sufficient time on a suitably 
coloured g-round. It may be noted that thoug-h some 
of the palest varnishes bleach for a time after applica- 
tion, they may eventually return to their orig^inal vel- 
lowness. This is especially the case if they are used in 
badly lit rooms. 

Durability is another important quality desirable in 
a varnish ; indeed, by far the most important ; for in 
a sense, it embraces the others. A varnish not hard 
enoug-h or elastic enoug-h for its special purpose cannot 
be durable, and a similar thing may be said of a 
varnish which sooner or later becomes unsuitable in 
colour to the g-round it is applied over. It is in regard 
to the lustre of gloss varnishes, though, that durability 
is here spoken of. Apart from the bringing up of the 
bottom coats, whether of paint, stain, or varnish, this 
is much influenced for good or bad by the gum em- 
ployed in the manufacture, the mode of making, and 
the maturity or age of the varnish. Those made with 
copal, amber, and kauri gums are amongst 
the standard varnishes possessing this quality 
when properly made and properly used, but 
to enhance the likelihood of a varnish hav- 
ing a fairly permanent lustre, a fair price should be 
paid per gallon, qualities under eight shillings being 
eschewed unless they have already gone through a 
succesful test. This test should have been in the form 
of exposure to the actual conditions under which the 
varnish is meant to be used. Thus a floor varnish 



AND ENAMELLING. 55 

should not be condemned if it will not last out of doors, 
neither should an outside quality be condemned because 
it will not stand on a floor. On a floor, hard varnishes 
last long-er, on outside work elastic ones — ^the one 
quality being- more durable in reg-ard to standing fric- 
tion ; the other in standing- atmospheric changes. 
Other things being equal, the more elastic a varnish is, 
the better will it stand chang^es of temperature, and the 
harder it is, the better will it stand handling. 

The Uses of Varnishes,^ Varnish makers assign 
to various varnishes different uses. Such uses are 
given below, as are also those known to the painter 
from practical experience. 

White Oil Varnishes. — These include White 
Marble, Coburg, and French oil varnishes, and are 
for the best work. Though they are the nearest to 
being- colourless possessed by the decorator, they are 
when durable far from water clear. For white or 
delicate tints their use is the most satisfactory. They 
are also suitable for mixing with white paints, and 
may be used on maps, wallpapers, and even in place of 
mastic varnish on oil paintings when they are not of 
great value. Owing- to their clearness, they are the 
most suitable for lettering on ground glass when an 
embossed appearance is desired. Exterior, as well as 
interior, work is done with these varnishes. 

Maple Varnishes. — These are for application over 
imitations of maple, or other grounds not exceeding 
maple in paleness. They are cheaper than the last 
mentioned, and next to them in paleness of colour. 

Oak Varnishes. — These, as their name denotes, 
are for use on woodwork not lighter than ordinary imi- 
tations of light oak. They are amongst the cheapest 
varnishes, and are suitable for general work where 
colour is not an object. As they generally darken con- 
siderably, the ground they are applied over should be 
much darker than they to begin with. Under the 
names of church oak and floor varnish are sold var- 
nishes suitable for furniture, public halls, and other 



56 STAINING, VARNISHING. 

thing's, and places likely to be handled, touched, or 
rubbed against. For mixing with paint, if the tint 
desired be not delicate, the pale copal oaks are useful. 
All the ordinary oaks are made in two qualities — outside 
and inside, but it is often wise to ignore this division, 
and use the exterior varnish on corridor and staircase 
doors, and insides of much exposed window sashes, as 
the risk of blooming during drying- by deposits of damp 
air on the surface is in this way obviated, and the 
durability of the sun exposed parts is increased. 

Paper Varnishes. — These are of two kinds- - 
crystal and oil, and the latter may be had in different 
degrees of paleness. The crystal paper variety should 
not be used on paper which will require to be washed ; 
for, though paler than most of the other variety, it does 
not wash well. Whether washed or not, however, it 
is not nearly so durable as the oil quality. Moreover, 
it should not be mixed with paint, as it is liable to 
cause peeling- ; therefore, its chief recommendation is 
its paleness, and consequently easily workable proper- 
ties when applied over light papers. The oil paper 
varnishes, though on the whole more difficult to work, 
are much more durable and washable, and may also 
be used for wood — are, indeed, specially suitable for 
woodwork of wash-houses and laundries, where steam 
is of frequent occurrence. 

Carriage Varnishes. — Those under this name are 
commonly used by house decorators for outside doors 
and windows, but for this purpose some of the outside 
copals are much better, as carriag^e varnishes are not 
intended for application under the adverse circum- 
stances attendant on outside work. Their application 
is best conducted in rooms of a moderate and equable 
temperature, hence their proper use is for the body and 
wheels of motor cars and carriages which may always 
be treated under uniform conditions. 

Bath Varnishes. — As the name implies, these 
are suitable for resenting hot water, and are employed 
on the insides of painted baths, hot water cans, and 



AND ENAMELLING. 57 

such articles. They are pale, and may be applied 
over cream paint and other light tints, but are not 
suitable for white. As a binding medium for mixing 
with paint for baths, they are also useful. These are 
amongst the high-priced varnishes 

Spirit Varnishes. — These include brown and 
white spirit varnishes, and patent knotting. Their 
lustre, surface, and general durability are much inferior 
to those of oil varnish. They are useful for under- 
coating quick work, which is afterwards to be finished 
with oil varnish, but they should not be applied over 
such varnishes, or over paint which is not simply a 
priming co,at ; for, if they are, cracking is almost sure 
to ensue. For cheap furniture varnishing, owing to 
their great spreading capacity, hard drying, and free- 
dom from tack, they are invaluable, as they are also for 
thinning dry white lead or other pigment, v/hen a quick- 
drying paint is required for touching up or for coating 
small articles. On large surfaces such paints should 
not be applied, as they set too quickly to be satisfac- 
tory. To prevent ** bleeding," or striking through of 
bright red under-coats when they have been coated with 
a dissimilar paint, an intervening coat of good knotting 
is serviceable, and where the red cannot be cleaned off, 
may be recommended. Its use on mantelpieces before 
painting over Brunswick black, and on knots and other 
resinous parts In wood, Is too well known to require 
comment here. It is also useful for damp walls. 

Flat Varnishes. — Of these the oil flat varnishes 
are best, and that termed copal flatting varnish the most 
durable. Those made with wax, termed encaustic 
varnishes, are not so workable, and not suitable for 
washing. These latter may, however, be polished with 
cloths after application, and In this respect are suitable 
for oak floors and panelling, as they are then similar to 
beeswax polish. Both qualities dry with an eggshell 
gloss, and are well adapted for finishing stained wood- 
work, especially that of front halls and dining-rooms 
after the Jacobean style. 



58 STAINING, VARNISHING, 

Black Japan. — This is a superior black varnish, 
and is mainly used in carriage painting-, but is adapted 
by the decorator for protecting the back of glass gild- 
ing owing to its tenacious nature. It may also be used 
for fine black finishes, but to add to its durability, it 
should be varnished afterwards with a good pale elastic 
varnish. If the varnish is dark, it will have a brownish 
cast after a time, and may spoil the work. 

Brunswick Black. — Cheap and useful for grates, 
hot water pipes, and other ironwork, and in glass em- 
bossing for coating those parts not to be embossed. As 
it is of a hard nature, it should never be used over oil 
paint, especially on places exposed to sunlight or othcx-* 
heat, for its tendency in such cases is to crack. It is 
sometimes used instead of black japan for protecting 
glass gilding, but, being brittle and liable to chip 
easily, it is not properly adapted for this purpose. It 
may be employed instead of pitch paper for damp 
walls. 



AND ENAMELLING. 59 



CHAPTER VIII. 

PRELLMINARIES TO OIL VARNISHING. 

Sizing and Filling In.— Sometimes in natural 
wood finishes either of these operations may be gone 
through previous to varnishing, the former being for 
cheap, the latter for better class work. In the first 
case, size is used to stop immoderate absorption of the 
varnish, hence to save a coat of it by applying a 
cheaper material .; in the second, fillers are used on 
coarse grained woods as a means of filhng the pores, 
and making the surface smooth at a quicker rate than 
could possibly be done by, it might be, several coats of 
varnish. Nothing can be said against this method 
when properly done, but a similar thing cannot be said 
of the other. Size from its Habihty to crack, is at all 
times risky to use in this connection, and therefore 
where a permanent job is desired, its use should be 
discarded. As instructions have already been given in 
regard to both of these methods, it need only be added 
that fillers for this particular purpose should be clear 
in colour and Hquid in form — not too thin, of course, 
but thin enough to penetrate the pores readily. Those 
made by Messrs. Nobles and Hoare and Messrs. Wm. 
Harland and Son, are amongst the most useful and 
economical. On fine grained woods, it may be ob- 
served, however, that oil varnish itself is the best 
material to use from the beginning. 

Sizing Wall-papers.— Before varnishing paper a 
protective coating must first be appHed, otherwise the 
varnish would be absorbed by the paper to the com- 
plete detriment of the job, rendering even the palest 



6o STAINING, VARNISHING, 

papers a patchy brown colour. This coating may take 
the form of glue size, water glass, or other material, 
but in any case, although one coat of sufficient strength 
would be quite suitable, it is always advisable to give 
two so as to make sure of having no parts left undone 
Regarding the strength of the materials which may be 
used for this purpose no exact proportions can be 
given ; for much depends on the original strength of the 
materials, and the quality of the paper to be coated. 
Roughly speaking, though, glue size, the usual medium 
employed, may be used quite safely in the proportions 
of one lb. to the gallon of water, more or less water 
being added according to the porosity of the paper. 
In any circumstances, whatever strength be adopted 
for the first coat should be continued for the next. As 
wall-papers are porous, and do not contract and ex- 
pand, sizing is in this case quite safe, but to assist the 
absorbency, the size should be applied warm, yet not 
hot enough to draw out or injure in any way the colour 
contained in the paper. Water glass is a little more 
expensive than glue size, but as it gives the superim- 
posed varnish a greater brilHancy, and is almost 
colourless, it is recommended for high class work on 
white and delicate grounds. Its strength should be 
tested on an odd bit of paper, similar to that hung, 
before proceeding. 

Spirit Varnishing. — As a means of saving oil 
varnish in cheap classes of work, and getting a job 
quickly completed, this operation is sometimes resorted 
to. In such cases, the spirit varnish should be thin, 
and applied direct to the wood. A better material 
in some respects, though of a somewhat similar 
nature, is Messrs. Smith and Rodgers' Proof Priming 
Varnish— a material made specially for undcrcoating 
paints and oil varnishes. 

Japan Gold Size and Turps. — This mixture may 
be employed on hurried work of the better class, but 
compared with oil varnish, the only recommendation 
it has is that of being suitable for quicker application. 



y\ND ENAMELLING. 6i 

PAINTING FOR VARNISHING. 

Preparation of Surfaces. — Amongst the easiest, 
and yet the most particular jobs the decorator has to do 
is that of preparing old painted surfaces which are to be 
repainted, and finally varnished. Every irregularity, 
every small blemish, is magnified by the lustrous 
coating ; therefore where the best results are desired 
great attention must be given to the initial processes. 
To remove old cracked and blistered paint, the burning- 
off lamp, or what is preferable, a harmless paint 
remover, should be used. Removers requiring the use 
of water should be avoided, as the washing with water 
not only roughens the wood and raises the grain, but 
also causes other defects to arise even after the job is 
finished, such as springing of mouldings, and consequent 
loosening of the putty around such parts, caused by 
water having lodged behind them, then drying out 
afterwards. Apart from this, some days must elapse 
before painting when the old-fashioned removers have 
been used, whereas the newer materials admit of the 
work being proceeded with at once. As these latter 
materials evaporate rather rapidly, only two or three 
yards should be done at a time, and as soon as scraped, 
washed down thoroughly with a rag dipped in tur- 
pentine. If the burning-off lamp is used, charring 
must if possible be avoided, and all mouldings and 
recessed parts well scraped out, the whole thing being 
rubbed smooth afterwards with coarse glasspaper. 
Sometimes if the lamp has not been working effectively, 
or shght paint ridges have been left through improper 
handling of it, the necessity arises for rubbing down 
level with pumice and water, but in such cases, for 
reasons hinted above, as httle water as necessary 
should be used, applying it with sponges instead of 
brushes. As the lamp is risky to use for taking paint 
off window sashes, a shavehook or small pieces of thin 
glass may be employed, or scraping tools such as are 
used bv cabinetmakers. 



62 STAINING, VARNISHING, 

Woodwork in good condition, it is obvious, 
requires much less preparation. A washing and 
thorough rubbing with lump pumice is, however, 
always essential to good work, and in treating wood- 
work in this way, attention must be given to the 
selection of good pumice, and the method of using it. 
Hard pumice which has the nature of volcanic ash, 
and sinks in water should be eschewed, as it does not 
easily rub the work smooth, and is liable to cause 
scratching. The whiter and softer stuff is the better 
quality, and should be used in a circular direction 
with a plentiful supply of water or soda solution 
wherever possible. Close to mouldings, small pieces 
with sharp points and edges are required, and should 
be used in the direction of, and never at right angles to, 
such parts. As soon as paint accumulates on the 
pumice, two pieces should be rubbed against one 
another to remove it, and afterwards dipped in water 
to ensure their freedom from grit, as any grit left on 
the surface will invariably cause scratching when the 
rubbing is resumed, and scratches, it may be noted, 
are liable to show through the finished work. To avoid 
sore finger tips which frequently result when this work 
is being done, the sides of the pumice where gripped 
by the fingers should be rubbed smooth. 

Preparation of Surfaces, Cheap Work.^ 
When good work is not requisite other methods of 
preparation may be adopted. Cracked work may at 
once be filled with thick Duresco, Alabastine, or other 
water paint, and then coated with suitable oil colour. 
If blisters abound the work may simpl}^ get a scraping 
with a putty or pocket knife, and be thereafter puttied 
or filled previous to painting. This method, needless 
to say, has its disadvantages ; for no matter how well 
cracked paint may be filled, such cracks are sure 
sooner or later to show through the finished work, and this 
is especially true where few coats of paint are of necessity 
given. On the top of the filling a coat of thin spirit 
varnish may be applied to make the paint bear out 



AND ENAMELLING. 63 

with the fewest number of coats, but this should not 
be employed on work to be finished white, as in such 
a case what would be gained by the non-absorption 
would be lost in opacity ; in other words, an extra coat 
of white might be required on the spirit varnish to 
make the work appear white, which would certainly 
not be an advantage as far as cheapness goes. 

Mixing the Paint. — In making paint for varnish 
undercoats where a good job is desirable, two things 
should be noted. First, that the paint be made to dry 
firm and hard ; second, that the finishing undercoat 
be non-absorbent ; for if all the undercoats are not of a 
hard nature cracking of the varnish may result, and 
if the finishing one be absorbent the varnish will 
immediately lose more or less of its lustre. After new 
work has got an oily priming coat, then a next coat 
of lialf and' half in the usual way, and immediately 
after old work has been prepared, paint specially 
suitable for undercoating varnish should be used. 
Except in exceptional cases such as when first coating 
old varnished wood, and plenty of time can afterwards 
be allowed to harden, oil should not be put into this 
paint. Without doubt the best vehicles for this 
purpose are Japan gold size and turps or varnish and 
turps. Either of these combinations prove satis- 
factory, but pale qualities of varnish and gold size 
must, of course, be used for mixing white and delicate 
tints. The proportions of vehicle should be about one- 
third varnish or gold size to two-thirds of turpentine, 
and should be continued similarly until the last coat. 
To make sure of these proportions being similar during 
each of these coats, it is best to measure the vehicles in 
a paint pot when mixing ; in any case, care must be 
exercised not to have a greater proportion of varnish 
or gold size in the bottom than in the top coatings, 
otherwise cracking may eventually result. The last 
coat preceding the varnish should be thinned with 
half and half, so as to lessen the amount of turpentine, 
and thus increase the non-absorption of the paint. 



64 STAINING, VARNISHING, 

All paints for this class of work ought to be strained 
through fine muslin strainers, as they are then more 
workable, and easier sandpapered when dry. 

Note.— As the above is a comparatively ex- 
pensive paint, the decorator should make his price 
accordingly. Comparing it with paint mixed in the 
ordinary way at least twenty-five per cent, additional 
should be allowed. 

Puttying and Filling. — After a first coat has 
been given to old work, puttying and filhng may be 
commenced, but in the case of new work only puttying, 
filling being reserved till the next, or even the next coat 
again, has dried. Puttying is suitable for nail holes, 
open joints, and deep dents, while filling is for general 
irregularities of the surface, including shallow dents and 
such like which would take too long to putty, and, 
indeed, cannot be properly puttied. Just before 
puttying and filhng, it is not necessary to sandpaper 
the work, in fact, better not to ; for in the former in- 
stance by rubbing down afterwards any surplus putty 
above the surface or around the holes is then smoothed 
down, while in the latter, the slight roughness of the 
unsandpapered surface gives a better hold to the 
filling. Putty for deep parts should be used in as stiff 
a form as possible so that there may be no perceptible 
shrinkage of it, rendering all such parts shghtly be- 
neath the surface, and causing re-puttying. In a 
similar way, filling should be kept thick for the deep 
and thinner for shallow parts. In making this com- 
position the proportion of Japan gold size indicated for 
paint — one-third— to two-thirds of turps should be 
used in conjunction with dry white lead. Only a 
little of this ought to be made at a time, and if the 
mixture sets too quickly to work properly, a little 
ordinary white lead ground in oil may be added as a 
restrainer. To prevent difficulties in laying on the 
fining, it should also be remembered that the dry lead 
must be throughly reduced to powder previous to 
mixing. In place of making filhng, a ready-made 



x\ND ENAMELLING. 65 

filling may, however, be bought from Messrs, Nobles and 
Hoare, Harland. or other leading maker of varnishes 
and allied goods. Taking everything into considera- 
tion, these are really cheaper than the workshop com- 
positions, and are strongly advocated for this class 
of work. 

The best tool to use for filling is a paperhanger's 
scraper. It should be three or four inches broad, 
slightly flexible, and absolutely straight at the edge 
to produce good work without extra difficulty. 
The paste, or filling, being on a clean smooth board 
or a piece of glass, some of it is lifted with the edge of 
the scraper, and applied roughly to the work, then 
trowelled off, as it were, by drawing the knife, now 
freed from material, straight down the surface at right 
angles to the wood. A strong even pressure must be 
applied to the knife, and to avoid ridges in finishing off, 
it should at each stroke be passed partly over the 
preceding one. As an alternative to this method, a 
brush may be employed for applying the composition, 
but this is not suitable for badly dented work, and is, 
moreover, much more difficult to sandpaper down. In 
the case of mouldings, round, or carved work requiring 
filling, this latter way is, however, the best. 

In puttying little difficulty will be experienced if 
due attention is given to the operation, but given it 
must be. Besides a putty knife, a small tool in the 
form of a strip of hard wood about an inch in breadth, 
and an eighth of that in thickness, is essential. One 
end should be cut at an angle like a putty knife, which 
cutting makes it the most suitable instrument for 
squeezing putty in around open mouldings, skirtings, 
and so on ; for in doing so with other tocls, scratching 
and other damage is liable to occur. Putty for this 
class of work should be made with white lead stiffened 
with whiting, and coloured or otherwise to suit the 
ground it is being applied on. 

These operations having been so far completed, 
and the result properly hardened, a thorough rubbing 



66 STAINING, VARNISHING, 

with sandpaper or pumice should be given. If the 
fiUing has set extra hard, the latter material or artificial 
pumice blocks should be used in conjunction with a 
sponge and water as in usual first preparatory work. 
After the rubbing has been done by whichever method, 
if inequalities are still in the work, filling must again 
be resumed with its consequent after rubbing until a 
surface as smooth to the touch and level to the eye as 
glass has been obtained. In some cases one filling 
operation will suffice, while in others, even three are 
not sufficient, a greater or fewer number being re- 
quired for particular parts. 

Application of Paint. — In applying the paint, 
whether it be coats previous to, or after the filling 
operation, similar principles are involved. The 
criterion of good plain painting is that it be quite free 
from brush marks — that you cannot say whether it 
has been finished or brushed off in one direction or 
another — that it is, in fact, like a sheet of plain 
texture paper. To attain this end, well made paint, 
good tools, and above all, skill is necessary. In regard 
to the first, it should be mixed as already indicated, 
and in consistency is best like medium thick cream. 
As for the tools, they should consist of large brush, 
sashtool, and fitch, and should be of sufficient length 
and flexibility for laying off after the paint has been 
spread, and yet must not be soft and flabby, for 
with such tools it is difficult to distribute the paint 
evenly — and spreading is also an essential element in 
good work. Needless to say, the bristles of each tool 
should be cut and arranged so that they readily spread 
out into a fine chisel-like point when required. 

Coming to skill, craftsmanship, art, or whatever 
you care to term it, there is no royal road except by 
practice and a sensitive touch. By the latter phrase is 
meant that lightness of touch which distinguishes one 
man from another when applying a brush to a given 
surface — that difference in lightness of pressure when 
gliding a brush over a paint film. In painting a panel. 



AND ENAMELLixXG. 

the paint must be distributed evenly. To do so, each 
brushful of paint should be rubbed out to a thin film, 
by leaning on the brush with some pressure, applying 
the material firstly up and down, then crossways, 
and eventually downwards with an even sweep. This 
being so far done, the brush should be thoroughly 
scraped free from paint on the edge of the kettle, then 
gilded across the work as hghtly as possible! and 
finally brought downwards in a similar manner. In 
sweeping downwards from the top mouldings of a 
panel sometimes the paint "gathers." or becomes 
thicker close to the bottom ones. To remedy this, the 
fitch may be swept lightly in towards the moulding at 
that point, or as is often needful outwards from the 
moulding towards the body of the panel. Close to the 
top mouldings, again, a bareness may occur which may 
require to be softened upwards. When these opera- 
tiohs have been properly executed, painting of a smooth 
unbrushmarked texture should result. 

The number of applications will varv in different 
cases, but painting should be continued^ always until 
an appearance of solidity has been gained. Iji many 
cases, and especially when doing white work, six or 
seven coats are not too much, sometimes, indeed, on 
special jobs, ten are required, the last two being made 
from oxide of zinc instead of white lead. Between each 
of the coats at least two days should elapse, and a 
thorough sandpapering be given. 



68 STAINING, VARNISHING, 



CHAPTER IX. 

PRELIMINARIES TO OIL VARNISHING 
(continued). 

The preparatory work and painting having been 
finished, the next essential is that of sandpapering for 
varnishing. In the case of good work, this should be 
done at least a day previous to varnishing so as to allow 
the film thus exposed to the air to harden still further, 
and to allow the dust of the rubbed off particles to 
settle. If the sandpapering has been done in a 
thorough manner between the various coats, little 
rubbing should now be required, a piece of No. o or fine 
No. I glasspaper being used for the purpose. One of 
the chief points in this operation is to avoid rubbing the 
paint off the sharp edges of the w^oodwork, otherwise 
touching up may have to be done which retards, and 
eventually may mar the finished work. After this, if 
the work has many deep mouldings and recessed parts, 
it is sometimes advisable to swill the whole thing down 
with cold water, as this operation, besides removing 
loose particles difficult to remove with the duster, helps 
to some extent to harden the surface. This makes the 
woodwork almost ready for the application of varnish, 
but before that operation can commence some other 
matters require attention.- Such include the condition 
of the floor, the quality and condition of tools, the kind 
of vessel used, the cleanliness of the worker, and the 
general atmospheric conditions. Taking them in order, 
we have to consider : — 

The Floor. — Of the utmost importance is a clean 
floor. This should be thoroughly scrubbed immediately 



AND ENAMELLING. 69 

after the final rubbing down of the paint, so that it may 
be quite dry for the following day, as the effect of a 
damp floor on the atmosphere of a room on the day 
varnishing is taking place might lead to blooming, 
or loss of lustre, in a delicate varnish. That portion of 
the floor close to the skirting should if possible be done 
with a sponge, as that cleanser will not mark the 
skirting as a scrubbing brush might, nor leave streaks 
of wool as some cloths are liable to do. 

Brushes. — For good work these must neither be 
hard nor short. Other things being equal, the oval and 
flat shaped brushes are the handiest to work with. The 
bristles should be of good medium length, flexible, and 
tapering to a chisel-like point, otherwise it is difficult 
to lay on the flowing coat so necessary to good, and 
especially good one-coat, work. In addition to a 
bru^h, sashtool, and fitch, a small hog's hair tool or 
"wiper," is necessary. This latter is useful for taking 
any superfluous varnish from mouldings and quirks 
where some is, of course, always liable to gather soon 
after the flowing out commences. The most important 
thing, though, in connection with brushes is that they 
be free from dust or grit of any kind. Owing to this, 
each brush should be scraped round the outside base of 
the bristles to remove any hard varnish which may be 
adhering there, but which might readily come off to the 
detriment of the varnishing if allowed to remain. 
Afterwards they should be well washed in turpentine by 
dipping and squeezing in a small pot half full of that 
material, then finally pressing the turps from them by 
squeezing between clean paper — not rubbing them on 
paper as is frequently done to the injury of the cleanli- 
ness. This washing should take place only a short 
time before the brushes are to be used, but if it happens 
they are not required immediately, they should at once 
be suspended in clean linseed oil either by putting a 
wire through their handles or using a patent brush- 
holder, and then covered with a proper cover or one 
of clean paper shaped to suit the containing vessel. 



;o STAINING, VARNISHING, 

Pots. — Putting patent varnish cans to the side, 
there can be no doubt that the stoneware pots with 
side handles are the best. Owing to their smooth 
inner surface, and freedom from quirks caused by 
joinings in iron pots, they can be much more effectively 
cleaned than the latter kind, and, having a side handle, 
in all cases prevent any dangling of the hand over the 
pot — frequently a source of trouble. As their edges 
are comparatively blunt, there is also Httle danger of 
scraping anything off the brush during the progress of 
the work in event of the brush not having been 
cleaned thoroughly with the pen knife. When such 
pots are not to be had, a small, thin-hpped jelly mug 
forms an excellent substitute. Having no handle, it 
should be held by the bottom during work. 

CLE.A.NLINESS OF THE WORKER. — To gain the best 
results, the operator's hands and clothes should be as 
clean as possible. Overalls which have been in use 
when washing off distemper, and are still dirty, should 
on no account be on. Aprons, too, clean or unclean, 
should in this connection be discarded, as their habihty 
to flap about, and raise dust is not at all consistent with 
clean work. The most suitable thing to wear is a 
clean white jacket of a size adapted to the worker. If 
the sleeves are too long, they should be turned up an 
inch or two so as to allow perfect freedom in working, 
and to avoid flapping during the progress of the work, 
the jacket should be buttoned. Clean soft shppers should 
also be worn, and great care taken to move about as 
quietly as possible. Just before commencing, too, the 
hands should be well washed so as to ensure their 
freedom from any dirt or grit that might otherwise fah 
from them into the varnish. The craftsman must also 
exercise cleanliness in regard to his step ladder, washing 
it previous to using, and taking heed to move it about 
very cautiously. 

Atmospheric Conditions. — For weal or woe in 
varnishing these play a prominent part. As aids to the 
full measure of success, a dustless atmosphere and a 



AND ENAMELLING. 77 

warm temperature are essential, but it may be said 
that the first never exists, and that the second can 
seldom be had to suit ; therefore precautions must be 
taken accordingly. Such precautions consist in having 
the floor washed, and moving about with caution, as 
already mentioned, and also in having some clean 
newspaper tucked in at the outside bottom of the door 
so as to prevent the entrance of more dust. As at- 
mospheric dust is continually falling to the floor, part 
of it to be raised again by currents of air or the feet, a 
good plan is to shghtly damp with a wet sponge that 
portion of the floor on which the feet will be placed 
when doing a certain piece of work — close to a door, for 
example, or within the bay of a window. In regard to 
the control of temperature, however, little can be done. 
The only proper aid towards a uniform temperature in 
this connection is that of a radiator. If there is one in 
the. room under treatment, and the atmospheric 
warmth is insufficient for the easy working, and due 
setting, of the varnish, the apartment should be heated 
at a uniform rate for several hours, and at least until 
the varnish is beginning to dry. A temperature of 
65 degrees, it may be mentioned, is the most suitable 
for the purpose. If the temperature is too low fogging 
and blooming may result, while if it is too high, the 
varnish loses in body, and becomes less elastic, besides 
setting too quickly to allow of proper working on large 
surfaces. Whether the temperature be high, medium, 
or low, uniformity should, at any rate, be aimed at ; 
for even a damp, but uniform temperature is not, 
after all, usually detrimental to successful varnishing, 
whereas a sudden dampness or chillness occurring before 
the work has dried may be. Defects from these latter 
causes are more hable to happen on staircase, hall, and 
exterior woodwork, but in any case, open doors, 
windows, or anything likely to cause draughts of cold 
or damp air should be avoided. 

Dusting. — Previous to apphcation of varnish, all 
the woodwork should be thoroughly dusted. This, 



;2 STAINING, VARNISHING, 

though a simple operation, is of the utmost importance ; 
for upon it depends to a great extent the cleanUness of 
the finished work. For the best results two dusters 
are necessary — one for the preliminary, the other for 
the final, dusting. As the first dust down is hable to 
make a brush dirty with dust particles, more especially 
when dusting low parts such as skirtings, it is advisable 
to have a second one not only to ensure the complete 
removal of any trace of dust, but also to prevent 
dirtying the work — which, by the way, is particularly 
necessary when dusting white or delicate tints of paint 
for varnishing. Needless to say, both brushes must be 
veil washed in soap and water and thoroughly dried 
before commencing the operation, and after it has been 
finished, sufficient time should elapse to allow any dust 
to settle previous to varnishing. 



AND ENAMELLING. 75 



CHAPTER X. 

APPLICATION OF OIL, SPIRIT, AND 
FLAT VARNISHES. 

OIL VARNISH. 

To make this operation a success, the first essential 
is to take the varnish flask into the apartment where the 
work is to be done ; for by doing this, httle quantities of 
varnish may be taken out at a time instead of having, 
say, a potful to begin with, which is almost sure to 
become dirty before it is emptied. Sufficient varnish 
should be put into the pot so that the brush tips may 
not touch the bottom, yet care must be taken to put in 
little more than will suffice for a certain part of the 
work. In regard to lifting the varnish from the pot 
another precaution is necessary. This consists in 
carefully dipping the brush into the varnish, giving it a 
twirl so as to hold the material properly — not slapping 
it against the pot side, which simply causes dust, but 
lifting it straight on to the work. This having been 
attended to, the varnish should at once be spread with 
an up and down stroke, then crossed with a slight 
pressure, and finally finished off downwards or upwards 
— in the one direction at any rate. Before giving the 
finishing strokes, the brush should be scraped free of 
varnish against the edge of the pot so that no surplus 
material may ooze from it when placed on the work, 
and so that the toes may be brought to a fine point 
more suited for finishing with. As varnish in itself 
flows to a level surface, the main point is to be sure 
that it is equally spread ; for as runs are caused by more 
varnish being on one part than another, it follows that 



74 STAINING, VARNISHING, 

equal spreading is a preventative of running. General!}^ 
varnish should not be crossed more than twice, and the 
less crossed, or, indeed, brushed at all, the better. 
The heavier the coat, the more brushing will varnish 
stand, but for a perfect flow and clean finish, quick 
application is essential. 

The quantity put on should vary with the number 
of the coat. Thus a first coat on bare wood may be full, 
as much of it will be absorbed, other undercoatings on 
similar work or on paint should only be medium in 
quantity, so as to allow of proper hardening and easy 
sandpapering, while the last coat in every case of 
brush finishing should be applied full and flowing. At 
the same time, too much must not be put on at the last 
coating ; for besides increasing the risk of runs, a loss of 
lustre may eventually occur through imperfect drying of 
the varnish. After a door or window shutter has been 
coated for about half an hour, the mouldings should be 
examined, and any surplus varnish there collected 
wiped out witli the small tool, or wiping fitch. This is 
always necessary when a flowing coat has been applied, 
and especially with a slow setting varnish. 

Besides the care bestowed on, and manner of, 
applying the material, the method of procedure is also 
of importance. It is best always to do the hidden 
parts of doors and windows first when working at such 
places. Thus in doing a window, the check ought to 
receive hrst attention, then the architrave, and finally 
the shutters, the sill not being touched until mantelpiQce 
top and skirting are being done, as they ought to be, at 
the end. In doing a door if the work is turning out in 
the least specky, the main panels should be left to the 
last, the stiles, as well as the architrave, being done 
previously. In such cases the mouldings are finished 
with the panel, but, unless with very quick setting 
varnish, not until every panel of importance is coated. 
This method keeps the sashtool clean and fit to be 
used on the panels if necessary, whereas by coating 
each set of mouldings immediately after each" panel is 



AND ENAMELLING. 7? 

done, there is always a risk of the sashtool becoming 
dirty, and unfit for the plain surfaces, and, it should be 
noted, that for putting a good coat on small panels this 
is the best tool, and therefore often required. 

Varnishing Natural or vStained Wood. — These 
sometimes receive additional treatment by the process 
of double coating. This consists in applying another 
coat immediately after the under one is dry, and while 
it is still tacky. No rubbing down must be done, and 
the greatest care taken to prevent the working up of the 
preceding coat. Though this method lends additional 
brilliancy to the work, it is not generally to be recom- 
mended where an extra clean finish is desired, and is 
unsuitable for white or light painted work. 

Varnishing White Paint. — More difficulty is 
experienced in this than any other class of varnishing. 
In order to prevent the yellowness which sometimes 
occui^s at junctions of stiles and so on, the material 
should be applied as quickly as possible. When such 
clouding, or yellowness, does happen, the best plan is 
to let it alone, and, if it does not bleach as clear as the 
other parts in a day or two, to paint that part in again. 
In any case, too much reliance should not be placed on 
the bleaching process, as with some bleaching varnishes, 
the yellow appearance will return after a time. At 
tops and bottoms of panels, the difficulty of giving a 
uniform coat is sometimes experienced. As the 
drawing down or up of the brush from such parts leaves 
a bareness very perceptible on white work, the large 
fitch almost devoid of varnish should be swept lightly 
across them, and if by so doing a running tendency is 
caused it should be softened off into the body of the 
varnish. 

Varnishing Wall-Papers. — In treating these, 
the main thing is to work quickly to prevent clouding, 
and to apply each brushful close to the preceding one so 
that the coat given maybe uniform. To put one brushful 
on, then another two or three inches farther along the 
wall, and join them by crossing is not at all conducive 



;6 STAINING, VARNISHING, 

to an equal glossiness. The spaces between are 
usually more or less bare at the finish by such a 
method. 

Varnishing Exterior Work. — In winter time 
this should be done immediately after the sun has 
struck the work for a short time, and if in a position 
where the sun's rays cannot strike, not before ten in the 
morning. In the summer time, again, it should be 
done sufficiently early so as to allow of the varnish 
being set by night fall. Sometimes under certain 
atmospheric conditions an outside varnish sets quicker 
than it can properly be applied. To remedy this, a 
little boiled oil may be mixed thoroughly with the 
varnish although it is better to use if possible another 
and slower setting varnish. 

Varnishing Furniture. — The precaution to be 
attended to here, is to give three thin coats rather than 
two heavy ones. Thick coatings on bottoms of chairs 
and tops of tables are liable to become tacky under 
pressure. 

APPLICATION OF SPIRIT VARNISH. 

So long as the stretch can be kept well in hand, the 
joinings not having time to set, there is no difficulty in 
this operation. As spirit varnish is easily spread, and 
has no tendency to run, not more than one crossing is 
necessary, and in many cases it will be found that the up 
and down application is in itself best. If put on 
quickly, as indicated, it dries free from brushmarks, 
and, apart from difference in the wood, of a uniform 
appearance. Being much thinner than oil varnish, 
flowing coats cannot be applied. 

APPLICATION OF FLAT VARNISH. 

The foregoing instructions apply also to this 
material. It must be laid on at once, and not worked, 
otherwise flashing or glossy marks will result. In 
doing the stiles of a door each stile must be cut in 
separately or the whole brought down at once. In 



AND ENAMELLING. 77 

working down a four panelled door, the following order 
would be adopted, middle upright stile, top rail, outside 
stiles to lock rail, lock rail, outside stiles and middle 
upright bottom stile to bottom rail, then bottom rail. 
It is simply a matter of completing the top half, then 
the bottom. If possible the wax flat varnishes should 
not be used in a humid atmosphere, as they are liable 
then to turn out white or bluish looking ; the oil 
quality may, however, be used at any time, and some 
of them outside as well a? inside. 



yS STAINING, VARNISHING, 



GHAPTER XI. 
FELTING DOWN AND HAND POLISHING. 

When the highest possible class of varnish finish is 
desired, these operations have to be gone through. 
The first makes the surface smooth, of a dull lustre, and 
in itself constitutes a fine durable finish, but is mostly 
used as a leveller between coats in superior brush 
finishing, and between coats, and after the final coat to 
form a suitable ground for hand polishing. This last 
process gives a high lustre to felted work, making 
surfaces as bright and easily kept as French polish does, 
and in the furniture trade is much employed in superior 
piano finishing. When properly done, it is the painter's 
only process which can at all be compared with plate 
glass for cleanness of surface — the finest brush finishing 
of varnish being much inferior. 

The Ground Work. — Felting and polishing may be 
executed on varnish work of every description so long 
as the woodwork is good or may be made good by 
filling and so on — work varnished from the bare wood 
upwards, stained and varnished or painted and 
varnished — the essential thing being that it has had 
enough varnish previous to the final felting. On bare 
wood four coats are necessary, on stained three, on 
painted two ; in fact, ' more coats may be given, the 
precise number depending on the skin or body arrived 
at, and its freedom from speckiness. In every case, 
previous to commencing painting, staining or varnish- 
ing, and during the progress of the work, preparatory 
operations of the highest class must be gone through. 



AND ENAMELLING. 79 

and in regard to the varnishing, care taken to do it as 
cleanly as possible. This last precaution is necessary; 
for though felting may remove some dust particles 
effectively, it is sure to cut those deeply seated into so 
many dull specks which mar the felted surface, and 
cannot be polished satisfactorily. Whether the work 
is to be finished simply bv felting, or by the additional 
operation of polishing, the best results are always 
obtained by felting down between each coat instead 
of sandpapering. Such should be done after each coat 
has thoroughly hardened so as to avoid the risk of 
scratching or of rubbing the pumice powder into the 
varnish — defects w^hich not infrequently occur when 
rubbing on a soft or imperfectly hardened surface. 
Unless a special polishing varnish, specified by the 
makers for that purpose, has been used, a week should 
at least elapse before felting ; much depends on the 
hardening qualities of the varnish, and the drying 
power of the atmosphere at that particular time. In 
the case of work that is not of the highest class, 
rubbing down with glasspaper between coats until the 
second last one or, indeed, the last one may suffice, as it 
is much quicker and cheaper. The last coat must, 
of course, always be felted down previous to varnished 
work being polished. Besides forming a ground for 
these operations by specially varnishing, old varnished 
woodwork in good condition ma}- be used for the same 
purpose, but as such has not generally been expressly 
varnished for a polished finish, it is usually better to 
treat it by felting only. 

Materials. — These consist of pumice powder, a 
sponge, chamois skin, and an inch or two of felt, but 
paraffin oil and cotton rags may also be added. The felt 
should be in the form of a thick pad so that it may be 
held easily by the fingers when rubbing. For con- 
venience it is better to purchase two or three ready 
made pads having curved wood handles somewhat 
similar to those of papering brushes, though much 
smaller, and to use plain cut pieces of felt for all 



So STAINING, VARNISHING, 

mouldings and recessed parts. In addition to these, 
putty powder or rotten stone, linseed oil, and flour are 
required for polishing. 

Felting. — Having the materials at hand, the 
pumice powder being in a tin saucer, the work is 
commenced by damping a part of the surface with a 
sponge which has been dipped in clean cold water, then 
damping the face of the felt or pad, dipping it into the 
pumice, and applying it to the work. If in the pre- 
liminary damping, the water cisses badly, it is advisable 
to make it slightly soapy by dissolving in it a very 
little of good quality white soap, as this makes it lie, 
and lessens the risk of scratching. The rubbing 
should be done with a slight up and down or circular 
motion, taking care not to rub harder and longer at one 
part than another, and sponging frequently to note the 
progress of the work, and to ensure against cutting 
through the ground, which cutting would be irremedable 
except by varnishing. After such sponging and 
drying with the chamois, the rubbing is again con- 
tinued until a uniformly dull surface is obtained. 
This similarity of appearance applies to all parts, and to 
obtain it and a perfectly smooth surface should be the 
chief desideratum if the felting is to be called good. 
When the work is deemed sufficiently well cut, it 
should be thoroughly washed down with a brush, as 
such cleans out the mouldings best, then sponged with a 
clean sponge, if possible, not the one used for the 
former sponging, as it is liable to be gritty. These final 
washings, it need hardly be said, are of much 
importance ; for if improperly done, specks due to 
minute pumice particles left on the surface are sure to 
appear on the finished work if it be afterwards 
varnished or polished. Sometimes it is a good plan to 
use two grades of pumice powder, a coarse and a fine, 
but generally it is only • necessary and, indeed, only 
beneficial, in the case of old varnished woodwork 
which, being very hard, requires a coarser grade to cut 
it down quickly before applying the finer quality to 



AND ENAMELLING. 8i 

obtain the needful smoothness. When the two qualities 
are used two different felting pads are necessary to 
good work. 

Felting may also be done by using paraffin oil, 
pumice, and cloths instead of water, sponge, and 
chamois. A little paraffin oil is placed in an ordinary 
paint pot, then applied to the work with a sashtool, and 
rubbed with felt and pumice as already mentioned. 
To note the progress of the work, the surface is now 
and again wiped with a rag dipped in the oil, and dried 
with another. At the finish the work is thoroughly 
washed down with paraffin, and afterwards rubbed 
with cotton cloth'-' free from fluff, and if found necessary 
a day or two after washed with soapy water, and 
finished off with a sponge, clean water, and chamois. 
This method is very suitable for semi-gloss finishes, 
but is not so well adapted for forming a ground for the 
highest class of polished finish. Its great advantage 
lies in its giving a uniform appearance quicker than the 
other method does, but it does not cut and reduce to 
smoothness any sooner. If anything, it is better 
employed on old varnished woodwork than on new. 

Polishing. — If the ground work has been properly 
brought up, and the final felting well done, there should 
be little bother with this operation. The rubbing is 
conducted as before, water or linseed oil with putty 
powder or with rotten stone being used lightly over the 
surface with a special pad kept for the purpose so as to 
ensure freedom from extraneous matter which might 
adhere to it in the form of pumice particles had it been 
used in the preceding operations. This pad should be 
of clean soft calico formed into a loose ball so as to be 
easily gripped. It is dipped into linseed oil or water, 
then into powdered rotten stone, and applied lightly 
until a sufficient polish has been obtained, after which, 
if oil has been used, a tuft of cotton wool sprinkled with 
fine wheaten flour is rubbed over the work to remove 
that material, and give the final polish. When water 
has been used, the powder will usually rub quite dry. 



82 STAINING, VARNISHING, 

and almost, if not quite, fall off, but in any case the work 
should finally be washed down with a sponge. When 
choosing between the use of oil and water, and between 
putty powder and rotten stone, it is always preferable 
to use putty powder and water for white or light 
tinted woodwork, and the rotten stone and oil for 
dark. If these latter have been used for white wood, 
it is advisable to give the surface a final rub with a soft 
rag dipped in spirits of wine so as to remove any trace of 
the oil which might discolour the work. 

Another, and simpler method of polishing, though 
not so good, is to rub the felted ground with a mixture 
of sweet oil and spirits of wine until a polish is obtained. 



AND ENAMELLING. 83 



"CHAPTER XII. 

DEFECTS IN OIL, SPIRIT, AND FLAT 
VARNISHED WORK. 

To some extent these have ah-eady been spoken of, 
and if the instructions already given in regard to the 
bringing up of work, the kind and quality of varnish 
employed, and the application thereof, there should be 
little risk of any defect arising. However, as defects 
do occur even after every precaution seems to have been 
taken, a list of the usual defects with their causes may 
not be out of place. 

Defects spring from various sources but may 
finally be reduced to at most five classes, viz. : those due 
to the worker, to the surface varnished, to the at- 
mospheric condition as regards dust, to the temperature 
of the air, and to the varnish used. In very poorly 
executed cheap work, all these classes of defects may be 
visible, while in good work only those classes which are 
for the most part beyond control, such as those due to 
temperature and to other atmospheric conditions, are 
likely to occur. Thus we have : — 

Grittiness.— This delect falls mainly under the 
class due to the worker, and is mostly caused by unclean 
brushes or improperly dusted surfaces. Dirty paint 
cans are also frequent sources of grit, as is also felted 
work from which the powder pumice has been im- 
properly washed previous to varnishing. i\ll these are 
under the control of the worker, and may generally be 
avoided, but others are partly beyond control. Such 
are e^rittiness due to dust in the air, and specks or 



84 STAINING, VARNISHING, 

particles in the varnish itself. When newly opened 
varnish exhibits this defect, it is due to improper 
methods of manufacture, insufficient straining, want 
of maturity, or storage in dirtv cans. If the tin has 
been opened for some time, and a quantity been used, 
it may be caused by the air contained m it drying and 
skinning the material, hence rendering it full of particles 
when required for use. Varnish left over from use and 
returned to the remainder in the tin is likewise a source 
of this trouble. Sandpapering and revarnishingis the 
onlv remedy. 

CissiNG. — Varnish cisses or curls up here and 
there from the ground on which it has been applied 
when the surface is greasy or, whether paint or varnish, 
contains too much terebine or when it is hard and 
glossy. If the ground is oily, as in working over oil 
paint, or the varnish contain rosin or other deleterious 
material, this trouble may result. To prevent this, 
the bringing up of the work and the quality of varnish 
must be attended to, but as it is too late to alter these 
when cissing does occur, the preventative is to sand- 
paper the work well, and give it a thorough rubbing 
with a damp chamois. 

Pitting or Pinholing. — This trouble takes the 
form of small pits, or, as it were, pinholes in the varnish, 
and is sometimes caused by the under surface being 
greasy, but generally by atmospheric air being mixed 
with the varnish— a thing which not infrequently 
occurs when varnish has been shaken violently on the 
road to a job, as, for example, when being carried on a 
bicycle. As soon as the defect appears, the varnishing 
should be stopped until due time has been allowed for 
the varnish to settle, and let loose the air contained 
within it. When the defect happens without any shaking 
having taken place, it may be due to the varnish having 
absorbed a certain amount of air when being filled 
into the tin by the makers, and may be remedied by 
allowing the tin to stand without a cork for a short 
time 



AND ENAMELLING. 85 

Blooming. — This may be caused by the varnish 
having been imperfectly boiled or otherwise badly 
made, then being exposed to the action of damp air 
during the drying process. It happens mainly on 
exterior work, and in new houses where there is much 
plaster drying, and as it is liable to occur even with high 
grade varnishes, the precautions already given should 
be noted. Owing to the power of iron surfaces in 
condensing vapour, such surfaces are very liable to this 
defect, and should only be varnished in warm weather. 

Tackiness. — The trouble here may be due to a 
cheap varnish containing rosin oil, but is more frequently 
caused by uncleanness of the surface coated, and by 
coating a surface only apparentlv hard, not in reality 
thoroughly so. An excess of driers, whether in stain, 
paint, or varnish, is usually the cause of this false 
hardening, and should be avoided in every case. It is 
klso caused by tampering with the varnish, adding 
linseed oil, or another and quite different kind of varnish. 
Exterior varnishes of much elasticity when used 
indoors are liable to become tacky under great heat or 
warm hand pressure. Sometimes excessive cold during 
varnishing produces this defect. To cure any form of 
tackiness, except that due to a dirty surface, it is 
necessary to give a thick coat of whiting or other 
distemper colour mixed only with water, and to allow it 
to lie for a day or two so as to absorb the cause of the 
tackiness, after which it should be washed off 
thoroughly, and revarnished. When dirtiness or 
greasiness under the stain or paint coatings which have 
preceded the varnish, is the cause, a thorough cleaning 
off with paint remover is usually required ; therefore to 
lessen the risk of this defect all work such as church 
seats and furniture should be well cleaned at the 
commencement, and care taken that the remover is 
thoroughly washed off, as it in itself, if not properly 
cleaned off, sometimes causes tackiness. 

Cracking. — This defect usually happens after the 
lapse of some time — it may be one year or several — and 



86 STAINING, VARNISHING, 

is not infrequently caused by having used strong glue 
size under the varnish, by placing a hard drying 
varnish over an elastic one, or by having used too much 
terebine or Japan gold size in the under coats, or by 
having applied varnish over an undercoat not 
thoroughly hard. These are the chief technical 
causes, but it should be noted that these are only part 
causes acting in conjunction with others, such as 
changes of temperature, moist air, heated air. and the 
direct rays of the sun, or of a fire. If it were possible 
to have a uniform temperature always and the same 
amount of moisture in the air always, this trouble 
would be avoided, but as this is impossible, the 
technical causes must be attended to at the commence- 
ment of the work. Sometimes varnish which has been 
applied in too hot an atmosphere will afterwards 
crack, owing to its elasticity having been lost thereby. 
Cracking also results from having applied thick coats of 
varnish in very cold weather, but this like the last- 
mentioned cause, is not usually much in evidence. 

Wrinkling. — The trouble here referred to 
happens immediately after the coating has dried, and is 
caused by too heavy an application which goes into 
wrinkles, or heights and hollows by the action of 
drying. The preventative is obvious ; the remedy 
cleaning off, and revarnishing. 

Running. — Of the faults due to hurried work, 
this is one of the commonest, and then consists in not 
having spread the varnish properly, or, in other words, 
equally over the surface, or in not having wiped any 
surplus varnish from the mouldings or recessed parts. 
When not caused in this way, it is simplv due to too 
heavy a coating, or to a rise in temperature affecting 
the varnish, as, for instance, when a varnish has been 
chilled in the tin during excessive cold, is applied to 
work, and afterwards whilst drying is struck by the 
sun's rays. In regard to this defect much depends on 
the setting properly of the varnish ; those setting 
slowly require much more care than those which set 



AND ENAMELLING. 8; 

quickly. While varnish is flowing wet a little extra 
working will eradicate runs, but when once it has 
dried treatment is difficult. In bad cases it is always 
better to clean off the coat of varnish containing them 
either by scraping or by rubbing with a clean cotton 
rag dipped in benzine. In other cases, sandpapering 
or rubbing down with ground pumice may suffice, but 
care must be taken that the work is thoroughly hard 
before doing either of these or revarnishing. 

ROPINESS. — Another defect mostly due, but not 
wholly, to workmanship. If the varnish is worked too 
long, it sets during the operation, and, in consequence, 
does not flow out level, that is, becomes ropy. To 
obviate this quick application is necessary if the 
varnish be a quick setting one. Sometimes the varnish 
itself is the main cause of the defect, not allowing 
enough time for application, owing to its having 
become thick by lying in a half empty tin. In such 
cases heating in a can of hot water, and adding a very 
little pale boiled oil, does good, but this latter is not 
advised if the varnish is at all workable. 

Yellowing. — This defect is mainly visible when 
white or other delicately tinted work has been varnish- 
ed. In the cases of white and cream grounds, it is 
often caused by an excess of driers, oil, or dark varnish 
in the paint, but is often the result of the varnish 
itself being defective, or of an inferior grade. In dark 
rooms this trouble is most prevalent, as the mere 
absence of light darkens the majority of pale varnishes. 
To lessen the risk of this happening, the best varnish 
tor the purpose under consideration must only be 
used, and the last coat of paint must be mixed with a 
very pale varnish, the pigment employed being, if 
possible, oxide of zinc instead of white lead. Where a 
pure white is desired, it is, of course, advisable to use 
white enamel, as even the palest varnish has a creamy 
tint, and if it were otherwise — if the varnish were 
water clear, it would be at the sacrifice of durability. 



88 STAINING, VARNISHING, 

Loss OF Lustre. — -When this is not caused by 
time or by blooming, it is caused by a too absorbent 
ground, the varnish having been rubbed out too much, 
the use of an inferior and cheap varnish, or the result of 
coating a surface not thoroughly hardened. To 
prevent this, the reverse order of things is only necessary, 
and to rectify it, a good coat of fine quality varnish. 

Turning Blue. — In general this occurs on outside 
doors, and is not to be confounded with blooming, 
which latter, besides having a "bloom" or bluish 
appearance, has also a lack of lustre. It is a trouble 
which happens after rain, and is caused by the varnish 
absorbing the water, and may appear in the form of 
spots, streaks, or a general blueness. Being always 
inherent in the varnish, this defect cannot very well be 
avoided by the decorator, but as it is much more 
apparent on some grounds, notably those of brown and 
dark green colours, it may be rendered invisible to a 
certain extent by employing lighter undercoats. As 
varnishes vary, however, in respect to this liability to 
turn blue, the better resisting ones may be discovered 
by varnishing several panels with different varnishes, 
and after they have dried thoroughly, laying a wet 
sponge on each overnight to see the effect produced 
next morning. Such a test is surprising, for it will 
often be found that some of the most expensive 
varnishes are the worst sinners in this respect. In 
very wet parts of the country, the use of boatbuilders' 
copal, if of good quality, will frequently obviate this 
trouble, and may be recommended. 

SiLKiNESS. — This fault is simply a form of very fine 
cracking which can only be detected properly by a 
magnifying glass, though it is nevertheless, visible to 
the naked eye as a defect. Its causes are similar to 
those treated under "cracking," the application of one 
coat of varnish over another not properly hardened 
being probably the chief source of the trouble. Black 
Japan undercoatings also sometimes give rise to this, 
owmg to a change they effect in the varnish. The 



AND ENAMELLING. 89 

remedy is to felt down, and revarnish, but such can 
only be done with success after the work has stood for a 
considerable time, and then an elastic varnish only 
should be used. 

Peeling. — This happens through time to varnish 
which has been applied over glass, and exposed to the 
changes of temperature, but in other cases is mainly 
due to the employment of a very inferior class of 
varnish, in fact, one adulterated to a large extent with 
rosin. Thorough removal of the defective varnish, 
with after repainting and varnishing is the only 
remedy. 

DEFECTS IN SPIRIT VARNISHED 
WORK. 

Cracking. — Often this is due to the wood expand- 
ing more than the varnish, and often to the varnish 
having been applied over an oil varnish, oil paint, or 
other elastic coating. There is no proper remedy 
except that embracing removal of the coatings. 

Chipping. — This is mostly due to the lack ot 
"key" given by certain hard woods to this class of 
varnish, and cannot well be obviated. Thick spirit 
varnish is, however, much more liable to this defect 
than thin qualities ; therefore these latter should only be 
used, especially in first coating. 

DEFECTS IN FLAT VARNISHED WORK. 

Flashing. — This is the commonest fault, and is 
usually due to working the varnish too long. When it 
is due to the material itself, a slight heating sometimes 
does good. It must be remembered too that to give 
the best results, the finishing coat must be applied on a 
non-absorbent ground, whether of its own nature, oil 
varnish, stain, or paint. 



9u STAINING, VARNISHING, 

Turning White. — Moist air in conjunction with a 
varnish composed largely ol beeswax is the source of 
this, and with such varnishes can only be avoided by 
selecting suitable weather m which to do the work, or by 
having the air of the apartments worked in sufficiently 
heated. 



AND ENAMELLING. Qi 



CHAPTER XIII. 
ENAMELS AND THEIR PROPERTIES. 

Enamels are divided into two classes, flat and 
glossy, the former embracing ordinary flat enamels 
and those which may be stoved, the latter embracing 
bath, stoving, flamboyant, petrifying, and ordinary 
enamels. This class, though somewhat simflar m 
nature to gloss varnishes, has, nevertheless, several 
points of difference, and therefore requires different 
criteria from those. With the exception of the flam- 
boyant division, aU gloss enamels should include the 
following properties to give successful results:— 

Lustre.— This should be high and of a per- 
manent nature. An enamel which is quite glossy 
on application may lose much of its brightness during 
the drying process ; therefore, judgment should not 
be passed m regard to this untfl at least three days 
after, when the film wiU have hardened. To gam 
reliable information, it is then best to compare the 
enamefled surface with a smaU piece of similarly 
painted and freshly enamefled wood. A better plan 
stifl, as the surface worked on is sure to be uniform 
in each case, is to enamel a piece of glass, allow it to 
harden, then enamel another piece, and whilst wet 
compare results. Any difference in lustre will at 
once be detected by this method. In finding the 
relative gloss of enamels, it is best to employ the ac- 
tual conditions under which they are apolied. As the 
lustre of some enamels vary but little whether applied 
to paint or to glass, and that of others vary much. 



92 STAINING, VARNISHING, 

comparative tests should be made on identically 
pamted wood, and at the same time. The perma- 
nence of gloss, agam, is very much a question of time, 
yet a fair index to this may be gained by exposing 
the above boards outside for a few weeks, or for two 
or three days at an equal distance from the heat of a 
fire, and for the same number of nights outside. 

Flowing Property. — This is one of the most 
important qualities in a good enamel. Immediately 
after application, it should, like water, seek its own 
level, and flow out to a smooth, mirror-like surface. 
Where work is to be of the highest class, a slight loss 
of lustre may be passed when the lack of this quality 
will not. Enamels defective in this respect, need- 
less to say, do not give an enamel-like surface, even 
though they may be quite glossy, and much labour 
may have been spent on bringing up the groundwork 
suitably ; therefore, every enamel not already well 
known should be tested for this. By bringing up 
a board specially for enamel work, then applying the 
material to it in all directions until sufficient time has 
elapsed to allow of doing a large panel, a satisfactory 
clue is arrived at. If it is defective, the brush marks 
will be visible as so many ridges, and if very bad, such 
ridges will not only be visible, but will be felt plainly 
by moving the fingers across them when dry. Glass 
is sometimes used for testing this quality, but as such 
is not the material generally to be enamelled, such 
tests are usually futile for practical purposes. Some 
enamels flow out to perfection on glass, and yet will 
not do so on painted wood — no matter how smooth. 
As a comparative test for flamboyant enamels, the 
glass method is, of course, satisfactory. 

Purity of Colour. — ^This applies to the most 
used of all enamels — white ones. A pure white 
should not perceptibly incline to yellow nor to blue, 
and yet, owing to the nature of things, such is not 
to be had in paint ; therefore, the decorator should 
compare enamels to see which is purest in regard to 



AND ENAMELLING. 95 

this This should not be done by comparing the 
colour of each in bulk, as the colour then varies more 
or less according to the density of the material, but 
should be noted by actually applying some of each 
to an oxide of zinc ground — which gives a much 
purer white than white lead, thus enabhng judgment 
to be passed more easily. When a seemingly pure 
white cannot be obtained, it is advisable to choose the 
yellowish cast, as it is not so cold nor so grey looking 
when in juxtaposition with other tints, such as deep 
red wallpapers, and so on, as the bluish cast is. 
Generally clients prefer it, but it should be observed 
that it has one drawback. In rooms where there is 
little light it is usually more liable to become yellow, 
to lose its whiteness, than the other used under iden- 
tical circumstances. It, however, tints to a prettier 
cream than does the latter, and where much tinting of 
enamel is resorted to, it is recommended. To find 
the changes of colour which an enamel is subject to, 
whether under the influence of light or shade, it is 
simply necessary to coat two similarly painted pieces 
of wood with the material, and to expose one to the 
light of a window and the other to the darkness of a 
drawer or cupboard, then after a month or two to 
enamel a third bit of wood, and compare with the 
others. 

Opacity. — The body, or opacity, of an enamel 
is due to the amount and quality of the pigment em- 
ployed in its manufacture, and is easily found by 
noting whether the material will cover a given surface 
so as to render it completely invisible. In these 
days this quality is very important, especially in con- 
nection with white work, as the number of coats of 
paint given previous to enamelling is usually inade- 
quate in all but the best class of work. Even though 
a sufficient number of coats has been given, if the 
finishing one has been of white lead, this quality of 
good body is still necessary, owing to the enamel 
white and the lead white being so diverse in colour. 



94 STAINING. VARNISHING, 

In coloured work, a match of the enamel colour may 
be made, and the difficulty thus obviated, but in white 
work this can only be done by giving a sufficient 
number of coats of paint, and finishing with oxide of 
zinc instead of lead. In testing the hiding power of 
different makers' white enamel it is a good plan to 
apply them on a pink ground, as then any difference 
is readily detected. 

Ease of Application. — ^This property might 
be taken as identical with that of flowing, but it is not 
really so. As a matter of experience, an enamel may 
flow quite well, and yet be difficult to apply. Unless 
under the most favourable atmospheric conditions — a 
thing not to be reckoned on in ordinary house decora- 
ting — some enamels are tough, viscid, and difficult to 
spread, and in consequence cause much loss of time. 
The decorator may certainly " doctor " such an 
enamel, but that is not the point ; an enamel should 
not require such treatment. The ideal material in 
this respect is one which, though slightly tough, does 
not drag or feel unusually difficult to apply evenly, 
and has the power of sticking to where it is placed, 
thus lessening the liability of running. All enamels, 
of course, have a certain amount of toughness ; in- 
deed, it is so far essential to their durability, but when 
toughness interferes with application that particular 
enamel is to that extent defective. 

Drying Power. — This is a more important pro- 
perty than it seems to be. Enamels ^»^hich set and 
dry quickly are liable to lose their lustre somewhat 
rapidly, while those which dry too slowly are liable 
to become specky owing to atmospheric and other 
dust. The best enamel for practical purposes is, 
therefore, one between the two — one which dries but 
is not thoroughly hard in twenty-four hours. As far 
as hardening property is concerned, there is also great 
difference. A good enamel should dry through and 
through, and not merely on the surface. Generally 
speaking, the slower drying enamels are the best in 



AND ENAMELLING. 9^ 

this matter, but to make a test it is only needful to 
coat some pieces of glass with the various enamels, 
and to try them with equal pressure of the thumb nail 
after they seem to be hard. Those which are thor- 
oughly hard will not abrade so easily as the others. 
When it is found that an enamel dries mainly on the 
surface great care must be taken never to apply it 
Vhickly, as the defect is thereby augmented, and, in- 
deed, liable to cause another defect — that of cracking, 
wrinkling, or loss of lustre. This property of thor- 
ough hardening is essential to all enamels, but is 
doubly so to those used on baths and furniture. 

OTHER PROPERTIES. 

In addition to the qualities above mentioned, all 
but the ordinary gloss enamels have other special 
properties. Bath enamels, for instance, must be 
capable of withstanding hot water, frequent washing, 
and, to some extent, the action of soap in solution. 

Stoving enamels, again, must be made to stand a 
high degree of heat without injury to gloss or sur- 
face. These enamels as commonly used are for 
cycles, bedsteads, and other work which requires 
stoving or burning by the action of heat so as to be 
more hard and durable. These are very seldom used 
in the decorating trade, however. 

Petrifying enamels, on the other hand, must be 
capable of resisting damp, and are specially manu- 
factured for cellar walls and other parts liable to be 
damp. These, it may be noted, are a speciality of 
Messrs. Harland and Son. 

FLAMBOYANT ENAMELS. 

So far these have not been treated, as they have 
only the properties of drying, lustre, and flowing in 
common with the others. They are employed on 
glass, tin, and other bright metals, and are transparent 
and rich in colour, making satisfactory imitations of 



96 STAINING, VARNISHING, 

stained glass and lacquered tinware. They dry in 
eight hours, and may be stoved if thought necessary 
or found needful. They are manufactured by 
Messrs. Mander Brothers. 

FLAT ENAMELS. 

These dry with a flat or eggshell gloss, and are 
commonly used in place of flat paint, being generally 
capable of standing much more wear and tear. A 
good flat enamel should possess : — 

Uniformity of Appearance. — When properly 
manufactured, and properly applied, it should dry out 
with a surface quite devoid of gloss, or with a uniform 
eggshell lustre. If the enamel flashes after quick ap- 
plication it is generally defective. 

Ease of Application. — The ideal flat enamel 
should work cool — that is, it should not begin to set 
before sufficient time has elapsed to work it properly. 
When applied to a panel it should not begin to set 
till at least ten minutes after unless the temperature 
be exceptionally high. 

Flowing Property. — A good flat enamel 
should require little softening off, as it should of itself 
flow out, and set without any brush marks being 
visible. 

Opacity. — This is also an essential property, 
and in cheap work its presence or absence may make 
all the difference between a good job and a bad one. 
As with gloss enamels, this material is also often em- 
ployed to give the under surface uniformity of colour, 
and is expected to have as much body as ordinary flat 
paint. 

NOTE : — All these may be tested for the quali- 
ties mentioned in the manner given for gloss enamels. 

STOVING FLAT ENAMELS. 

Besides having the above qualities, these must 
withstand heat to be suitable for the purpose mdi- 



AND ENAMELLING. 97 

cated. Comparative tests ma^' be conducted by 
enamelling pieces of iron with different enamels, and 
stovmg them at a similar temperature for a similar 
length of time, noting whether they lose their flat 
appearance and become much darker in colour. If 
they do they are defective for the purpose mentioned. 



98 STAINING, VARNISHING, 



CHAPTER XIV. 
ORDINARY ENAMEL WORK. 
WOODWORK ENAMELLING. 

Although the ground for this is invariably in some 
form or other of paint or washable distemper, it 
nevertheless, varies a great deal according to the class 
of work to be done. Between the grounds of the 
poorest class and those of the best there is a great differ- 
ence as regards number of coats and kind of material 
employed. The cheapest bringing up and grounds are 
usually covered with the cheapest enamels, but apart 
from the quality of enamel employed, all enamel work 
may be classed as good, bad, or indifferent, according 
to the preparatory work and grounding it has received. 
A cheap enamel on a high-class groundwork may not 
make the best job, but in many ways it gives superior 
results compared with a high priced enamel on a poor 
groundwork. Thus, then, there are grounds to suit the 
following classes of work : — 

Low Class Work. — Within this class there are 
various grades of cheapness, the majority of which, 
unless specially specified, s*hould be avoided by all 
respectable painters. Generally the only use for 
which such grounds are truly legitimate is when enamel 
work of a temporary character has to be done hurriedly. 
In such cases the ground may be a coat or two of patent 
knotting and one of paint, or two coats of washable 
distemper and one of paint, or even two of size and one 
of paint, on new wood. On old woodwork one coat of 
paint, or one of washable distemper and one of paint 



AND ENAMELLING. pg 

sometimes form the ground, but one coat of Duresco as 
a filling up medium and two of paint, or simply the 
paint alone, may be used. Sometimes in extreme 
cases the enamel is applied directly on the top of 
washable distemper, but, needless to say, its lustre is 
thereby impaired at once. When such treatment has 
to be resorted to, the distemper should have been on for 
some time so as to be thoroughly hard, otherwise it 
should be sized. Very little preparatory work is 
usually done under this class. 

Medium Class Work. — A preliminary preparation 
consisting of washing with soda solution and rubbing 
down with lump pumice, puttying, and painting three 
coats most frequently constitute the ground for this, 
and on good new woodwork and well prepared old 
work, a very passable job is often obtained. A slightly 
better job is obtained, though usually far from the 
highest class, by filling with filling up composition, and 
coating four times, the last coat being, if the ground is 
already sufficiently covered, one of oxide of zinc in 
cases of white finishes. In filling such work, the com- 
position should always be tinted to match the paint or 
ground on which it is to be applied. This is especially 
necessary in w^hite work where after the first coat and 
previous to filling, the paint will appear greyish when 
contrasted wdth the creamy filling. A little black will 
usually bring the composition to the proper tint, and 
thus sometimes obviate an additional coat of paint. 
When a coloured finish is required, each coat should be 
made to correspond to the colour of the enamel, the 
finishing coat, if not exactly similar, being but slightly 
darker so as to enhance solidity of finish. 

High Class Work. — The preparation and ground 
for this should be almost similar to those mentioned for 
best varnish work finish, the difference being, when 
there is any, that fewer coats make a good ground. It 
is advisable, however, to consider grounding for high 
class varnishing and for high class enamelling as tlie 
same ; for although the opacity of enamel might render 



100 STAINING, VARNISHING, 

the identical number of coats unnecessary, it can by no 
means make the ground smooth. This is an important 
matter ; for even though the ground may be brought to 
a uniform colour, several coats may still be required, 
combined with thorough rubbing down, to bring it to 
the desired smoothness. Six thin, hard drying coats 
may be brought to a perfection of surface unattainable 
by giving three thick ones. When the surface colour 
and smoothness are good to begin with, fewer coats 
suffice, but generally speaking the lowest number 
suitable for this class of work is five — four of lead and 
one of zinc or special undercoating in cases of white oi 
ivory work. On a good and properly prepared surface, 
a first coat, then one of filling, a second coat, then 
another of filling, and afterwards four coats, make a 
ground sufiicient for the highest class of finish when it 
has been properly rubbed down between each of them. 
For pure white work, the last two coats would be oxide 
of zinc, and would be finished with two coats of enamel. 
Where more coats of filling are required, or the old 
surface is to be quite changed in colour, a great many 
more coats of paint are, of course, necessary. Some- 
times, as in coach painting, no fewer than ten are 
advisable. In any case, whether a fewer or greater 
number of coats is given, it must never be forgotten 
that skilful application of the paint and sound pre- 
paratory work are also factors in the pursuit of success. 
Details concerning these have already been given under 
varnish work, and need not be repeated 

Application. — What has been said relative to the 
application of varnish also applies here. The condition 
of the atmosphere, the floor, the pots and brushes, the 
surface, and the worker's clothes having been attended 
to, the enamel is laid on with up and down strokes, one 
crossing or at most two, and finaUy finished in the 
direction of the wood. Enamels are tougher to spread 
than varnish, therefore great care must be taken not to 
put more on one part than another. Although an 
enamel should flow out perfectly even after heavy 



AND ENAMELLING. loi 

pressure with the brush, it is always advisable to finish 
off with but a slight pressure, and on bad flowing, quick 
setting enamels hardly any pressure at all should be 
exerted. Generally speaking, the quicker an enamel is 
applied, the better will the finish be in cleanness and 
smoothness. When two coats are given the first 
should be thinly applied so as to harden quickly and 
rub down easily, but in all other cases if the work is to 
be finished with the brush, and not by felting and 
polishing, a full coat should be given. 

Note. — As enamel or varnish brushes are liable 
to lose their elasticity when kept in turpentine, they 
should always be placed in a vessel containing pure 
linseed oil. When brushes have lost this quality it is 
much more difficult to apply enamel properly with 
them, especially at tops and bottoms of panels. 

Felting and Polishing. — These operations are 
carried out similar to those on varnish work. 

ENAMELLING PIPING, RADIATORS, &c. 

Preparation. — Generally when these articles are 
new a thorough sandpapering is all that is necessary. 
In the case of zinc surfaces this method is, of course, 
useless ; therefore a preparatory coating of a suitable 
mordant should be given to assist adhesion of the paint. 
One may be made by mixing together one part each of 
nitrate and chloride of copper and sal-ammoniac in 
water sixty-four parts, then adding to the mixture one 
part of common hydrochloric acid. This partly softens 
the surface, and may be effectively painted over next 
day. Old surfaces, whether of lead, iron, or copper 
require washing thoroughly as well as sandpapering. 

Ground. — Three or four coats are usually sufficieni 
for this kind of work ; indeed, on hot water pipes and 
radiators the fewer coats the better so long as the 
colour is uniform. When much heat has to be resisted, 
the paint should always be composed of equal quantities 
of japan gold size and American turpentine mixed with 
oxide of zinc or other heat resisting pigment as a base. 



102 STAINING, VARNISHING, 

Besides the above white pigment, the most suitable for 
this purpose are Naples yellow, Venetian red, Indian 
red, ultramarine, cobalt green, burnt umber, burnt 
sienna, and lamp black, as they do not, like the majority 
of colours, become darker when heated. In any case, 
the paint should be made a trifle lighter than it is 
intended to appear so as to allow for any change, and 
to give best results it should be applied to the pipes or 
radiators while they are slightly heated. This latter 
precaution makes the paint adhere better, and less 
liable to turn colour afterwards. 

On cold water pipes white lead or any of the 
other ordinary pigments may be used, and should be 
mixed as above stated or with varnish and turps. 
Duresco also forms a cheap yet effective ground for 
both classes of piping and for radiators, if the white 
quality which is liable to "yellow" be excepted. 

Application. — This is so simple a matter that 
directions need not be given. Care should be taken, 
though, to see that the enamel used is suitable for 
resisting heat, otherwise the work may be marred. 
Several of the enamels now in use are quite suitable for 
this purpose, but by heating a radiator and applying 
a brushful of the material on the bare iron, a fair test is 
constituted. For white work this test is especially 
necessary. 

ENAMELLING CEILINGS AND WALLS. 

Preparation and Ground. — When the surfaces 
are badly cracked or broken, they should be mended 
with plaster of Paris, and afterwards papered with a 
stout white lining paper so as to form a suitable ground 
for painting. Before proceeding with this latter 
operation, the joints must be well rubbed down so as to 
be invisible when the whole is painted. For ordinary 
work a priming coat, a hlling up coat, and three subse- 
quent coats win usually do, the first coat being very 
oily as it is quickly absorbed by the paper, the next 
over the filling being half and half, and the remaining 



AND ENAMELLING. T03 

two being mixed with equal quantities of varnish and 
turps without driers. On higher class work the opera- 
tion is the same until after the second coat when 
another filling up coat may be applied, then painted 
several coats of sharp varnish and turps colour until 
a smooth and uniform surface has been obtained, after 
which a final coat of half varnish and half turps colour 
should be given. Thorough rubbing down of the filling 
coat with lump pumice and water, glasspapering of the 
other coats, and time for hardening between each coat, 
are also essential here, although in painting walls for 
flatting these operations are frequently omitted. On 
very porous walls, it may be noted, two thick coats of 
Duresco are very useful, and rub down to a good surface 
with pumice, in fact, any good washable distemper may 
be recommended for this purpose on bare ceilings or 
walls, but not on those which have been painted, as 
paint at all fresh beneath may induce cracking. In 
glasspapering this work, a level block of wood or cork 
is necessary over the sandpaper to ensure the surface 
being rubbed perfectly level. Rubbing with the paper 
merely in the hand is liable to be very unequal on such 
large surfaces. On the highest class work of this 
description the last two coats are felted down with 
finely levigated pumice, as this makes a better surface 
than sandpaper can in any case possibly do. 

Enamelling. — The application of enamel to ceil- 
ings and walls requires quick working and care. Two, 
three, or four men may be required for the one ceiling 
or wall to ensure the edge being kept going, otherwise 
if the enamel set during working, gathering and ribbing 
may result. Each brushful should be laid close to the 
last brushful, and after three or four have been laid on 
the whole should be crossed to spread the material 
properly, and finally laid off. In coating walls the 
topmost man should always be a brushful or two in 
front of the man immediately below him, and so on, 
to allow of freedom in working, but care must be taken 
not to exceed this distance in case of the horizontal 



104 STAINING, VARNISHING, 

joinings of each stretch setting before time has been 
allowed to finish one man's division into the other's. 
With quick setting enamels this latter precaution is 
especially necessary. To avoid the slight bareness or 
drawing away of part of the enamel at the horizontal 
joinings, the top man's stretch should be finished 
upwards, then the next man's in a similar direction, 
and so on to the bottom. By this successive and 
identical procedure, each division is finished into the 
other, forming a properly finished whole. On ceilings 
again, each man's stretch should be almost kept in a 
line with the other's, the man nearest the light finishing 
off first into the cornice, and the others finishing 
successively in the same direction. 

Note. — The above class of work is greatlv 
facilitated or greatly hindered according to the kind and 
quality of scaffolding employed. Light and strong 
trestles and plank erected at each side of the room form 
a good gangway on which to place a plank, the latter 
being simply shoved along on the top of the side planks 
at the finish of each complete stretch. When steps are 
being used to work from at important walls, it is a good 
plan to muffie their feet with soft rags or packing cloth, 
so that they may at once be pulled along easily and 
without dust, by catching the hind portion or stretchers. 
This is especially needful when the steps are high or 
heavy, as it is much quicker and handier than lifting 
them. 

Polishing. — Only in exceptional cases is this done 
on ceilings and walls, the reason for its omission being 
that ceilings are out of reach, and walls are for the most 
part covered with pictures and hangings, and hidden 
by furniture. When tfie process has to be done, 
though, it is simply a matter of repeating the operation 
given in detail in the section on varnish work. 



AND ENAMELLING. i.v 



CHAPTER XV. 

ORDINARY ENAMEL WORK 
(continued). 

FURNITURE ENAMELLING, ETC. 

Cheap Work. — This class of enamelling is generally 
applied to cheap, inferior furniture when new, and 
previous to enamelling mainly consists in coatings of 
size colour or washable distemper. A not unusual 
method is to give the work two coats of strongly bound 
size colour, to rub this down, then give a coat of japan 
gold size, and one of paint. Instead of this a coat of 
thick Duresco is sometimes given, then two of japan 
gold size and turps without any paint, or one of that, 
and one of paint. These methods are not trustworthy, 
of course, but they are- inexpensive, and although the 
size colour is very liable to chip with the slightest 
knock, it acts as a filler and paint combined. 

High Class Work. — Unlike the preceding, this 
Avork is expensive, and when well done exceedingly 
durable. Among all the common jobs given to the 
decorator this is one of the most intricate and particular, 
and therefore extreme care should be devoted to every 
phase of the work from start to finish. 

Preparation. — If the furniture is new, this 
operation usually consists in thoroughly sandpapering 
all quirks and turned parts with coarse sandpaper, and 
the plain surfaces with a finer grade. This is quite a 
simple matter until the work has been coated, but after 
that much skill of hand is required to rub down such 
parts without injury to the sharp edges. Glasspaper 



io6 STAINING, VARNISHING, 

for this work should be extra tough so as to bend readily 
into any desired shape without immediately tearing into 
shreds, and should be cut into suitable strips for the 
various intricate parts. After the first coat, No. i and 
No. o sandpaper only should be used, the latter being 
reserved for rubbing down the final coats. When 
furniture is old and badly chipped and cracked, a more 
tedious process than a preliminary sandpapering must 
be gone through. The preliminary preparation then 
consists in removing the old defective paint, polish, or 
whatever it may be, with a non-injurious paint remover, 
and finally washing the w^hole down with turpentine. 
A scraper may be used to assist removal of the softened 
paint film, but if possible only rags dipped in turps 
should be used for that purpose. At any rate, on all 
recessed parts this method is always the only proper 
one. as scraping with a knife is liable to scratch the 
wood at such parts. This initial process having been 
gone through, the work should now be sandpapered 
before first coating. Old furniture in good condition, 
of course, only requires the usual w^ ashing with soda 
solution and careful rubbing with lump pumice, curved 
and round portions such as chair legs being well sand- 
papered when dry. Owing to the difficulty of getting 
pumice to fit the shapes of these latter parts, it is. 
always advisable to use glasspaper on them, for pumice 
which does not lie properly against the surface is almost 
sure to scratch the work. French polished furniture 
may be painted after a preliminary wash and rub with 
glasspaper, but if the polish is not adhering very firmty, 
it should be removed to give a less brittle foundation. 
The volatile paint remover already mentioned is best 
for this purpose, but a wash or two of methylated 
spirits will also soften the film effectively, although it 
is somewhat slower in action. 

Ground for High Class Work. — When furniture 
is new or has been cleaned to the wood, the best priming 
is that composed of hard copal varnish, a little turps„ 
and white lead. This should be applied thinly so as to- 



AND ENAMELLING lo; 

penetrate the wood thoroughly, and after it has hardened 
should be rubbed down, and puttied with hard stopping 
made with dry wliite lead w^iiting and japan gold size. 
This puttying is mainly intended for any open joints, 
and after it has become hard, another coat of paint 
consisting of a little japan gold size, one third varnish 
and two thirds turps combined with white lead or other 
pigment as required, should be given. x\fter this two or 
three coats of filling should be applied with a good 
broad chisel or scraper on the flat surfaces, and with 
a brush on the curved parts. For laying with the 
brush the filling up paste should not be much thicker 
than good stout paint, so that it may be laid easily 
without leaving streaky ridges difficult to remove 
afterwards. Between each coat of filling, sandpapering 
should take place, and, if necessary, rubbing down with 
lump pumice. If after this the surface is not absolutely 
smooth, other coats of filling should be given until it is. 
To make sure that the surface is quite level, it is some- 
times advisable, especially when working away from 
the light, to give the filling a guide coat. This is 
simply a thin contrasting coat of sharp paint, almost 
flat, which when properly rubbed down shows by its 
difference in colour any inequalities of the surface. 

The surface now being level, two coats of the second 
coating paint should be given to prepare for the proper 
finishing coats. These latter consist of white lead 
ground in turps, and up till the last coat thinned down 
with equal quantities of white oil varnish and turpentine, 
the last coat being slightly different in having a little 
more varnish. All these coats should be merely thin 
washes of colour, and should be allowed to harden for 
two days between each application, and, if possible, 
even longer. The rubbing down between each coat 
should be done with the finest sandpaper until the last 
two coats when ground pumice and felt should be 
substituted. The number of these final coatings varies 
under different circumstances. If a flawless appearance 
is not gained by six, then seven must be given, and so 



io8 STAINING, VARNISHING, 

on till ten, twelve, or even fifteen may have been 
applied. After several days the ground thus formed 
is ready for the highest class of enamel work or polished 
finish. 

. Enamelling. — All the instructions already given 
in regard to the application of varnish and enameJ 
applies here, but as furniture is intricate, and has many 
small sharp edged surfaces, much care must be expended 
in avoiding *'fat" edges of enamel and runs. The 
bottom bars and legs of chairs should be coated first, 
then the back, and finally the fronts and bottoms, or 
seats. If possible, each article should be placed on 
clean blocks of wood about two inches high, and kept 
in this position during the work, and until thoroughly 
dry. This enables the work to be done without moving 
the furniture, and, in consequence raising a dust. The 
tops of chests of drawers, washstands, tables, and seats 
of chairs should be done with a different brush from 
that used on the other parts, as the application of 
enamel to those portions is liable to dirty the brush, 
owing to the minute particles of dust in the atmosphere, 
despite every precaution to the contrary, falling con- 
stantly on horizontal surfaces. Though in general 
practice heavy coats of enamel are necessary to obtain 
a smooth flow in this particular class of work such is not 
needful for two reasons. First, the surface is already as 
smooth as possible, and a light coat laid on without 
working it much is quite as satisfactor}^ in appearance 
as a heavy one ; second, a heavy application on work 
likely to be handled and sat upon sometimes leads to 
tackiness — a grave defect in furniture painting of any 
kind. When the first enamelling has been allowed to 
harden for at least a week, it may be sponged with cold 
water to still further harden the film, and th^n felted 
with pumice powder — the finest quality— and finished 
with another coat or polished. 

Note. — -Where much furniture painting and 
enamelling are done, a special room should be set apart 
for such work only. It should be well lit, have a 



AND ENAMELLING. 109 

heating radiator at each end, but no fire-place. Strips 
of felt should be tacked round the door, bottom and 
sides, to prevent draughts, the necessary change of air 
being brought about by ventilators at the top of the 
walls. When in use in winter, the apartment should be 
kept heated continually at about seventy degrees Fahr. 
This amount of heat must not simpl)^ be tested by 
feeling, but by having a thermometer hung in the 
middle of the room. 

Polishing. — This operation has already been 
described, and in the case of furniture brought up as 
here advocated, it is to be recommended. After all the 
labour involved, the enamel, though perfectly smooth,, 
may be slightly specky. Felting and polishing will 
remove any slight defect of this nature, and give the 
work the highest possible finish. If the furniture is 
to be pure white polishing the enamel coat is the best, 
but if purity of white is not much desired, the ground 
itself may be felted and polished with as good result ; 
for under the operation of polishing the varnish colour 
ground comes out with a hard, brilliant, and durable 
lustre. Putty powder and water alone should be used 
for finishing, the final cleaning off being done with dry 
flour or finely powdered French chalk. For details 
concerning polishing, see varnish work. 

BATH ENAMELLING. 

When metal or stone baths require re-enamelling 
after the stoved enamel surface has become worn, very 
seldom is it suitable, or, owing to the expense involved, 
worth while having them removed for similar treatment. 
This gives the decorator more bath painting and 
enamelling than he otherwise would have, but at the 
same time gives him the extra difficulty of bringing up 
and finishing such work so as to stand the action of hot 
water and frequent friction. Needless to say, his 
treatment cannot compare favourably with a stoved 
surface, but if done in the proper manner with the 
proper paint and enamel, a bath in regular use should 



no STAINING, VARNISHING, 

last for about two years, and if taken care of may last 
much longer. The best results may be obtained by 
attending to the following instructions : — 

Preparation. — If the bath has been stoved 
previously, this operation consists in washing, then 
thoroughly rubbing the surface with coarse sandpaper 
or emery cloth, or with steel wire wool. Much pressure 
must be exerted in rubbing so as to abrade the surface 
slightly, and thus form a key for the paint. While the 
bath is wet with the washing, it is a good plan to do the 
rubbing with emery cloth, as the water makes the cloth 
adhere much closer to the surface, and in consequence 
aids the necessary amount of abrasion quicker than 
otherwise. When the bath is a wooden one, and in 
bad condition, it is invariably advisable to burn or 
clean off the paint. Cleaning off with a harmless paint 
solvent, such as "Pintoff," is to be recommended, as 
any char marks caused by a lamp in burning off, are 
difficult to hide with paint, and render the wood soft at 
such parts. When a wood bath has been badly worn, 
and the water has penetrated the bottom, the lamp may, 
however, be used with good results for the purpose of 
drying the wood previous to painting. When old 
enamel and paint on any kind of bath are cracked, the 
cracks should never be filled up if a satisfactory job is 
at all desired, as sooner or later all such markings show- 
through in the finished work despite the use of filling 
composition. Old paint and enamel surfaces if not 
in an unsound state may simply require rubbing with 
pumice, but those cracked or otherwise marred should 
be removed. After this initial operation, the bath 
should be thoroughly dried, dusted, and the taps plugged 
with corks to ensure that no water will find its way 
from them into the bath during the painting operations. 

Ground. ^The paint for this purpose should be 
made of white lead mixed with equal quantities of japan 
gold size and pure American turpentine, and a little 
copal, or preferably bath varnish. Neither patent 
driers, terebine, nor linseed oil should be used, as these 



AND ENAMELLING. in 

are all more or less detrimental to the durability of the 
finish. The paint should be used in a thin rather than 
a thick state, and should be made in exactly the same 
way for every coat — the least excess of gold size or 
varnish in one coat beneath another being liable to 
cause cracking. To work up a good surface four coats 
are usually required, but this depends on the state of 
the bath to begin with. After the first coat any dents 
in wood or chipped parts in stoved enamel may be 
filled with a paste made from ground slate or from dry 
white lead mixed with the above media. Dry white 
lead, it may be noted, is most suitable for white baths 
owing to its colour. The filled parts having been 
rubbed down and touched up, painting should be pro- 
ceeded with at intervals of at least two days, the last 
coat being allowed to stand from three days till a week 
previous to enamelling. This hardening time is 
necessary to enhance the durability of the finish, and 
must be allowed. 

Enamelling. — Two coats of special bath enamel 
are essential to appearance and durability, and should 
be applied at an interval of one week, the first coat 
being well rubbed down and dusted during the middle 
of the week so as to let its under surface be exposed to 
the air, and thus still further harden. In applying the 
enamel, it is best to coat the top, or tap, end of the bath 
first, then the side next the wall, and finally the foot, 
near side, and bottom. By this method the enamelling 
is carried round to a part where joinings will not show 
badly even in a round or oval headed bath, this part, 
of course, being between the top of the near side and 
the top end. A good heavy coat should be applied the 
second time, and only a light coat the first time, each 
being laid off in the upright manner if at all suitable. 
This is advocated because it is much easier to avoid 
runs in this way — and runs are a source of much 
annoyance when baths are enamelled in the horizontal 
direction. As these enamels are generally quick in 



112 STAINING. VARNISHING, 

setting, they should be laid on quickly to allow of 
proper flowing out. 

Hardening the Film.— To do this is easy, and 
worth while. After the bath has been finished for two 
or three days, it should be filled with water, and allowed 
to stand for twenty-four hours in that condition. When 
the bath is emptied at the end of that time, its surface 
will be found to be still as glossy, and much more 
impervious and hard. 

To Lengthen the Life of a Bath. — The surface 
of a painted and enamelled bath may be kept intact for 
a sufficient length of time if the users attend to certain 
instructions which the painter, for his own credit, should 
give them. These instructions are :— (i) Always to 
put in sufficient cold water to cover the bottom prior 
to turning on the hot (2) To empty the bath im- 
mediately after use. (3) Not to wash and rub the 
surface with "Monkey Brand" soap or other com- 
position which abrades it. (4) Not to use a scrubbing 
brush and soft soap for washing, but always to clean it 
with a soft rag or sponge, cold water, and toilet soap, 
taking care to rinse it freely with water at the finish. 

EXTERIOR ENAMEL WORK. 

This is done in precisely the same way and under 
the same conditions as already given for exterior varnish 
work. Enamels for this purpose, when tough and 
difficult to work, should never be thinned with tur- 
pentine, as a loss of wearing property thereby ensues. 
A little white or French oil varnish is the best for this. 

DEFECTS IN ORDINARY ENAMEL WORK. 

Several defects are liable to occur in this class of 
work. Some are due to the enamel, some to the worker, 
and some to the atmosphere. When once the cause of 
any defect is known, its avoidance is much easier in 
the future ; the efore the following defects and their 
causes are given : — 



AND ENAMELLING. 113 

Loss OF Lustre. — This may be due to enamelling 
on an improperly hardened ground or a ground in 
which there has not been put sufficient varnish to 
render it non-absorbent. Tampering with the enamel, 
such as thinning it with turps, with inferior varnish, 
or raw linseed oil, may also be the cause, and likewise 
the use of an inferior enamel or a scanty coat. Draughts 
and changes of temperature from higher to lower, are 
also risky in this respect. Loss of lustre due to these 
last is sometimes termed "fogging." On exterior 
work, a cloudy-looking appearance properly called 
"fogging" is liable to occur if the air is moist or a fall 
of moisture takes place before it is properly dry. 

Discolouring. — The discolouration, if yellow, may 
be caused by a ground of white lead, by oil in the under 
coats, bv a very dark varnish having been used in 
making the ground, or by the use of patent driers. It 
is, however, very often due to the enamel itself being 
made with an inferior vehicle, an imperfectly selected 
enamel pigment, or unsuitable driers. When blueness 
is the defect, it is invariably due to the enamel having 
been made with an improper pigment, or having had 
blue combined with the original pigment to make the 
enamel appear perfectly white at first. 

Tackiness.— This may be a defect in the material, 
or may be due to the ground having been brought up 
too quickly ; that is, not enough time having been 
allowed between the various coats. It may also be due 
to too much driers in the under coats, or to oil having 
been used to excess in the same If the enamel is to 
blame, frequent sponging with cold water will eventually 
remove the defect, but in the other case, cleaning off 
and redoing is the only real remedy. 

Cracking. — A soft groundwork, or one with too 
much oil, or japan gold size, is liable to cause this unless 
the enamel is very elastic. When the defect is not 
caused by the ground, it is due to a hard, brittle enamel 
being exposed to the sun's rays or other heat. 

H 



114 STAINING, VARNISHING, 

ROPINESS. — Imperfectly made enamels and those 
which have stood for some time in a cold store are 
liable to this fault. Sometimes too much working, 
especially with a quick setting enamel, will cause this. 
Very cold weather, by making the enamel viscid and 
tough, also prevents flowing out to a smooth surface, as 
does too high a temperature. 

Grittiness. — Due to the decorator's foe — dust. 
It may be in the enamel, in the brushes, coming from 
the clothes, rising from the floor, or falling on the work 
from the atmosphere. The preventative of this defect, 
which is the most prevalent in otherwise high class 
work, is obvious, but requires much attention. 

Running. — Due to unequal spreading, or to the 
material being too thin to allow of heavy coating, or to 
its setting too slowly. In the second case exposure to 
the air is beneficial, in the last, a very little pale terebine. 

Blistering. — This is seldom due to the enamel, 
almost invariably it is a product of an oily ground under 
exposure to heat. 

Wrinkling. — Caused by a heavy coat of a surface 
drying enamel, especially on sills, bottoms of sashes, 
and so on, where it is liable to be floated on extra 
heavily. Both the enamel and the worker is to blame 
for this. 

Ch pping. — Any enamel will chip under a sufhcient- 
ly heavy blow, but those of a brittle nature are liable 
to this defect on the slightest knock. Thinning an 
enamel with turps increases this liability, as it lessens 
the tenacity and elasticity of the material 



AND ENAMELLING. 115 



CHAPTER XVL 

FLAT AND OTHER ENAMEL WORK. 

USING FLAT ENAMEL- 

On old painted wood, walls, and ceilings, the 
preparation usually given for flat painting suffices also 
for this, but if the walls are rough or badly chipped, 
they should be mended, and hung with a white lining 
paper in addition to any other preparation. 

Ground. — In bringing up a ground for flat enamel, 
the usual oily priming coat may be given on new wood, 
or new walls, and on papered walls, and after that sharp 
coats to the number required. On no account should 
the ground be oily, as if for flat paint, for such a ground 
under these enamels is liable to cause cracking. After 
the priming coat on new work, two coats of paint made 
in the proportions of one-fifth oil to four-fifths turpen- 
tine are generally sufficient. Between these coats a day 
or two should always elapse so that the life may be out 
of the paint to some extent before the next is applied. 
On the best class of work, an additional coat is given, 
and the paint is made with Japan gold size and turps 
in the proportions mentioned above. In cases of 
hurried work, the enamel itself is used without any 
intervening paint, as two coats can be applied on the 
same da}^ — one in the morning and one in the evening. 
On new plaster or cement, it may also be applied after 
a coat of knotting has been given. 

Enamelling. — Any one accustomed to flat paint- 
ing can apply flat enamel, the main thing about it is to 
have it laid on pro])erly before it begins to set. Quick 



ii6 STAINING, VARNISHING, 

application is necessary, and ceilings and walls should 
always be stippled. Sometimes woodwork is also 
stippled, but such treatment is not recommended, 
unless the material is actually unworkable. A good 
coat should always be applied with little or no crossing 
and softening off, for brushmarks flow out of them- 
selves, and the less working the better the flat. To 
increase the flat appearance, smoothness of surface, 
and durability, two coats are necessary, with the usual 
rubbing -down between each coat. If desired, an 
excellent egg shell gloss may be had bv felting the 
finish. 

DEFECTS IN FLAT ENAMEL WORK. 

Flashing. — This defect is sometimes inherent in 
the enamel, but in most instances it is due to an im- 
proper or slow method of working it. When these 
alternate glossy and flat markings are due to the 
enamel, it is generally because of its being too thick, 
or containing too much binding medium. In other 
cases, again, it is caused by the worker not stirring the 
material sufficiently or frequently enough, or by the 
necessity of two coats when only one has been given ; 
for some flat enamels do not flat perfectly until two 
coats have been applied. 

Brush Streakiness. — Good flat enamel work 
should not show the direction in which the material 
has been applied ; it should have an even grain or 
surface quite devoid of streakiness. When this defect 
does occur, it is mostly due to the worker having 
brushed at the enamel too long, or to a roughly painted 
ground. 

FLAMBOYANT ENAMELS. 

These require no grounding nor preliminary pre- 
paration apart from a thorough cleansing of the surface 
to be treated. Glass should be rubbed well with 
whiting and water to remove any grease, then well 



AND ENAMELLING. ii; 

dried and polished before applying the enamel. Tin 
or other light reflecting metal, for which these enamels 
are used, may be cleaned with a solution of pearlash, 
but neither these nor glass should be sandpapered, 
as such procedure means scratches which are liable to 
show through the transparent film. 

These enamels may be either stippled or laid off 
with the brush. On glass they should usually be 
stippled if there is any difficulty in working them, as 
thinning witli turpentine to aid application is not 
advisable, owing to its lessening the adhesiveness and 
brilliancy of the enamel. With a soft brush in skilful 
hands, the best effect can, however, be obtained. A 
medium coat only should be given, crossed lightly, and 
softened off like paint, so that it may flow out to a 
uniform appearance. Whether on glass or tin, the 
application should be done quickly, and as free from 
dust as possible. These enamels may be stoved at a 
temperature of 140 Fah., but whether treated in this 
way or air dried, one coat only is necessary. 

STOVING ENAMELS. 

The using of these enamels does not, strictly 
speaking, belong to the house decorating trade, and as 
a stove or heating chamber besides other apparatus are 
necessary, the subject will only be touched on here. 
These enamels are used mainly for metal work, cycles, 
bedsteads, tea trays, and so on, and when stoved at a 
suitable temperature form a much harder and more 
durable surface than otherwise would be. A pre- 
liminary grounding enamel or the finishing enamel 
itself is applied to the clean metal either by means of a 
soft brush, or by pouring from a ladle, and the article 
thus treated is immediatel}^ afterwards hung in the 
stove until it is thoroughly hard — the exact time 
depending on the metal treated and the properties of the 
enamel em])loyed. In connection with this class of 
work, it may be worth mentioning that the enamelling 



ii8 STAINING, VARNISHING, 

stove is a special and expensive apparatus lined with 
rows of gas jets, and cannot by any means be replaced 
by the ordinary oven. The temperature of this last 
cannot be kept equable, or made high enough, and the 
available space is not large enough, for most work. 

PETRIFYING ENAMEL. 

This material is intended for walls where ordinary 
gloss enamels might not stand, and, unless in the case 
of very damp walls, is applied direct to the plaster or 
cement. Three coats are usually sufficient, but when 
walls are very damp or porous, these should be pie- 
ceded by a coat of Harland's Transparent Petrifying 
Liquid. Before applying these enamels, the wails 
should be dried as much as possible, sandpapered, and 
mended where necessary with plaster of Paris. In 
applying, the undercoats should be put on sparingly, 
the finishing coat freely as m ordinary gloss enamel- 
ling, but always, if at ah possible, without thinning, as 
this is detrimental to the durabilitv of the material. 



INDEX. 



Absorption, stopping 

Alum 

Ammonia 

Ammonia, Liquid 
Aniline Colours ... 
Application of Flat Var- 
nish 

Application of Oil, Spirit, 
and Flat Varnishes ... 
Application of Paint 
Application of Spirit Var- 
nish 

Application of Stains 
Atmospheric Conditions 

Bath Enamelling 

Bath, to lengthen the life 

of a 

Bath Varnishes ... 

Beer 

Bichromate of Potash ... 
Binding Media 
Binding Vehicle ... 
Black, Brunswick 
Black Japan 

^nded Effect 

Blistering ... 

Blooming 

Blue 

Bottle Green 

Brunswick Black ... 

Brushes 

Brush Streakiness 

Burnt and Raw Sienna ... 

Carbonate of Soda 
Carriage Varnishes 
Carved Wood Effect 
Ceilings and Walls 

Enamelling 
Chamois 



Page. 

39 
26 
36 
26 

27 

76 

73 
66 

76 

45 
70 

109 

112 

56 
25 
34 
26 

25 

21 

21, 58 

49 
114 

85 
3o> 35 
24 
58 
69 
116 
21 

26. 35 
56 
50 



Page. 



21 



Chemical Stains ... 16, 

Cherry 

Chipping ... ... ...8 

Cissing 

Citrine 

Claret 

Cleanliness of the Worker 
Colouring Matter... 



Cracki 



21, 27, 



34 
29 
[14 
84 
24 
24 
70 
31 



85, 89, 113 



24 



Defects in Flat Enamel 

Work ... ... ... 116 

Defects in Flat Varnished 

Work 89 

Defects in Oil, Spirit, and 

Flat Varnished Work 83 
Defects in Ordinary Ena- 
mel Work 112 

Defects in Spirit Var- 
nished Work ... ... 89 

Dirty Wood, Treatment of 38 

Discolouring 113 

Door, Staining a ... ... 47 

Driers ... 20 

Drying Power 94 

Dusting ... ... ... 71 

Enamel Work, Defects in 112 

Enamel Work, Ordinary 98 

Enamel Work, Petrifying 118 

Enamelling a Bath ... 109 
Enamelling Ceilings and 

Walls ... 102 

Enamelling Furniture ... 105 
Enamelling Piping, Radia- 
tors,, etc lOI 

Enamelling Woodwork ... 98 
Enamels and their Proper- 
ties 91 

Enamels, Flamboyant ... 95 

Enamels, Stoving ... 117 



INDEX 



Page. 



Exterior Enamel Work . . . 

Exterior Work, Varnish- 

in.sr 



76 



Felting 87, 80 

Fillers and Filling in ... 40 

Finishing of Stains ... 50 
Flamboyant Enamel 

Work ... ... 95, 116 

Flashing ... ... 89, 116 

Flat and Oil Varnishing... 51 
Flat and other Enamel 

Work 115 

Flat Enamel, Using ... 115 
Flat Enamel Work, De- 
fects in ... ... 116 

Flat Enamels 96 

Flat Enamels, Stoving 96 
Flat Varnish, Application 

of 76 

Flat Varnishes ... ... 57 

Flat Varnished Work, De- 
fects in... 89 

Floor, The 68 

Flowing Property ... 92 

French Polishing ... 51 

Fumigating ... ... 36 

Furniture Enamelling ... 105 

Furniture, Varnishing ... 76 



Page. 

Lime ... ... ... 35 

Lime-covered Wood, 

Treatment of ... ... 39 

Linseed Oil 20 

Liquid Ammonia ... 26 

Loss of Lustre ... 81, 88, 113 

Low Class Work ... ... q8 



Green 


■■■30, 35 


Grey... 


24 


Glue Size 


39 


Gold Size, Japan ... 


21 


Grittiness 


83, 114 


Ground Work, The 


... 78 


Handpolishing 


... 78 


Harden the Film ... 


112 


High Class Work ... 


99 



Imitative Spirit Stains ..'. 32 

Imitative Stains in Oil ... 23 

Imitative Varnish Stains 33 

Imitative Water Stains ... 28 



b34 

18 

31 
32 

25 

23, 29 

23 

55 
47 



^Making Chemical Stains 
Making of Oil Stains ... 
Making Spirit Varnish and 

Chemical Stains 
Making Varnish Stains ... 
Making Water Stains 

Mahogany ... 

Maple 

Maple Varnishes ... 
Margins and Skirtings ... 

Marled Effect 

Materials 

Medium Class Work 
Medium Green 
Miscellaneous Stains in 

Oil 

Mixing the Paint ... 
Mixing the Stain ... 
Mottled Work 



Natural Wood, Varnishing 7c 

Nitric Acid ... ... 3c 

Oak Varnishes 5' 

Oak, Warm ... ... 2: 

Oak, Weather Stained ... ^ 

Oiling Marked Wood, * 

Treatment of 3( 

Oil Stain n 

Oil Stains, The making of i^ 

Oil Varnish 4( 

Oil Varnish and Spirit 

Varnish ... ... 3: 

Oil Varnishing 59? 6^ 

Old Woodwork, Treatment 

of ... ... ... 4 

Olive ... ... ... 2. 

Opacit}^ ... ... ... 9 



Japan Gold Size and Paint, Application of ... 6( 

Turps 21, 40, 60 Paint, Mixing the ... 6 



INDEX 



Painted Wood 
Painter's Pigment 
Painting for varnishing 
Pale Orange 
Paper Varnishes ... 
Peacock Blue 
Pearlash and Potash 
Peeling 

Permanganate of Potash 
Petrifying Enamel Work 
Pigments, Painter's 
Piping, Enamelling 
Pitting or Pinholing 

Polishing 

Polished Wood ... 

Pots 

Preparation of Surfaces 
Preparatory Treat m e n t 
previous to staining 
Proof Priming Varnish ., 

,Purity of Colour 

Purple ... 

Puttying 

Radiators, Enamelling ., 

Red 

Relief Material, Stainin 

and Wiping 

Rich Brown 

Ropiness 

Rosewood 

Running ... 



Page. 

43 
28 
61 
24 
56 
24 
35 



95, 



Satinwood 

Sandpapering 

Silkiness 

Silicate of Soda ... 

Size 

Sizing and Filling in 

Sizing Wallpapers 

Skirtings and Margins 

Spirit Stains 

Spirit Varnish 

Spirit Varnish, Applica 

tion of 

Spirit Varnish, Making .. 
Spirit Varnished Work 

Defects in 

Spirit Varnishing 



34 
18 
28 

lOI 

84 

! 1 , 1 09 

43 
70 
61 

38 
40 
92 

24, 30 
64, 42 

lOI 

30 



30 

87, 114 

23, 29 

86 

23, 29 
38 
88 
26 

25 
59 
59 
47 
M, 32 
40, 57 



Stain, Amount of 
Stain, Mixing the 
Stained Oak, Weather 
Stained Wood, Varnishing 
Staining a Door 
Staining and W^iping Re 

lief Material 

Staining, General Appli 

cation ... 
Staining, Preparatory 

Treatment of-... 
Staining, Unique Effects 

in 
Stains in oil, Imitative 
Stains in Oil, Miscella 

neous ... 
Stains in Water, Mis 

cellaneous 
Stains, Making Chemical 
Stains, Miscellaneous 
Stains, the Finishing of 
Stains, the Uses and 

Classes of 
Stippled Effect ... 
Stopping absorption 
Stoving Enamels ... 91 
Sulphuric Acid 

Tackiness ... ... 8; 

The Uses and Classes of 

Stains ... 
Treatment of Dirty Wood 
Treatment of Lime-covered 

Wood 

Turning Blue 
Turning White 
Turpentine 

Uniformity of Appearance 
Unique Effects in Staining 
Uses and Classes of Stains, 

The 

Uses of Varnishes 
Using Flat Enamel 

Varnish, Proof Priming ... 
Varnish Stains 
Varnish Stains, Imitative 
Varnish Stains, Making ... 



Page, 
46 
22 

44 

75 
47 

48 



45 

3^ 

49 
23 

24 

29 
34 
32 
50 

ir 

49 

39 

117 

35 

II 

3^ 

39 
88 
90 
20 

96 

49 

II 

55 

115 

40 
16 
33 
32 



[NDEX 



Page. 



Page. 



Varnished and Polished 




Varnishes, White Oil . 


55 


Wood 


43 


Vinegar 


26 


Varnished Work, Defects 








in 


83 


Wallpapers, Sizing 


59 


Varnishing Exterior Work 


76 


Wallpapers, Varnishing . 


75 


Varnishing, Flat and Oil... 


51 


Walnut 


23 


Varnishing Furniture 


76 


Warm Oak 


23 


Varnishing Natural or 




Water Stain, Making . 


• 13. 25 


Stained Wood 


75 


Water Stains, Imitative . 


28 


Varnishing Wallpapers ... 


75 


Wax Polishing 


50 


Varnishing White Paint ... 


75 


Weather Stained Oak . 


44 


Varnishes, Application of 


73 


White Oil Varnishes . 


55 


Varnishes, Bath 


56 


White Paint, Varnishing. 


75 


Varnishes, Carriage 


56 


Wiping Plain Work 


.. 48 


Varnishes, Flat 


57 


Wood, Treatment of . 


39 


Varnishes, Maple 


55 


Woodwork, Enamelling. 


qS 


Varnishes, Oak 


55 


Wrinkling 


86, 114 


Varnishes, Paper ... 


56 






Varnishes, Spirit 


57 


Yellow 


... 29 


Varnishes, The Uses of ... 


55 


Yellowing ... 


•■ 87 



PRACTICAL BOOKS 



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Duthie 3/3 

Decorators' Symbols, Emblems and 

Devices, by G. C. Rothery 3/3 

Paint and Colour Mixing, by A. S. 

Jennings 5/4 

Arnold's Handbook of House Painting, 
Decorating, Varnishing, Graining, 
etc., by Herbert Arnold 1/- 

Practical Arts of Graining and Marbling, 

byj. Petrie 14 parts 3/6 /,X 

bound volume £2 lOs. 

Practical Graining and Marbling, by 

Paul N. Hasluck 2/3 

Wallpaper Decoration, by A. S. Jennings 7/6 

Clark's Book of Alphabets, two parts 1/2 each 

Petzendorfer's Letter Book 23/- 



The Art of Show Card Writing, by 

C. J. Strong 10/- 

The Painters' and Builders Pocket 

Book, by Peter Matthews 3/3 

How to Estimate, by John T. Rea 7/9 

Coloured Designs for Wall and Ceiling 

Decoration Price 4/-, reduced to 2/9 

Student's Handbook of Paints, Colours, 

Oils and Varnishes, by John Furnell 2/9 

Simple Methods for Testing Painters' 

Materials, by A. C. Wright 3/3 

The Manufacture of Paint, by J. 

Cruickshank Smith 7/10 

Workshop Wrinkles, by W. N. Brown 2/9 

1 ,000 More Paint Questions Answered 1 2/- 

Lee's Priceless Recipes, by Dr. N. T. 

Oliver 2/8 

A Handbook for Japanning and Enamel- 
ling for Cycles, Bedsteads, Tin- 
ware, etc., by W. Norman Brown 2/3 

Polishes and Stains for Woods, by D. 

Denning . 1/2 

Henderson's Sign Painter 6/4 

Graining, Ancient and Modern, by 

Wm. E. Wall 12/- 



OFFICE OF "THE DECORATOR," 365, BIRKBECK BANK 
CHAMBERS, HIGH HOLBORN, W.C. 



ADVERTISEMENTS. 



STAINING: "^'^^T.r.Mu. 



SCUMBLE STAINS. 



VARNISHING: — -^hes. 
ENAMELLING: — -^els. 



SNOWITE, Pure, Lustrous White Enamel 
Elastic and Durable. 



Harlands' Flat Enamels (60 Tints). 

Harlands' Finely Ground Paints and Pure Colours. 
Harlands* Petrifying Enamels. 

WILLIAM HARLAND & SON, 



9 9 w^i'=^^a^=^m^'=:^m'm^=m m w 



: : : MERTON, LONDON, SW : : : 

*' Jilhion' XVdite Japan 

THE IDEAL WHITE ENAMEL. 

*' 3H,lhion" Yarnisdes . . 

FOR ALL PURPOSES. 

^'QastW' Jirt greens . 

EXQUISITE AND PERMANENT SHADES. 



Manufactured by — 

SAMUEL IVILLS & Co., 

CASTLE GREEN. 

BRISTOL. 



An\'ERTISEMENtS. 



Three good 
things. 

Each of the following Decorator's Specialities 
stands by itself — there is nothing quite like either 
of them. All are characterised by the most 
exquisite grinding, and the covering power, and 
consequent economy, m each case is surprising. 




is a hig-h-grade \vhite 
Japan tliat keeps white. 
There is no mystery 
about its composition 
— it is just the whites! 
known pigment incorporated in a varnish 
made especially for the purpose. Tn working , 
flowing and drying qualities it fully meets 
the practical man's requirements. 

In Gallons, Half-gallons and Quarts 



^ 



is a flat enamel in paste 
lyr II ^QJ^ J2 form. It is applied with 

an ordinary distemper 
brush— 7w/Mo«/ stippling — and produces 
a velvet-flat surface in white or i8 
delicate tints that can be intermixed. 
The Matone surface is readily washable. 

In 7-lb, and 14-lb. tins. 




is a high-gloss finishing 
YJ^ J^J^QL paint producing work 

equal to enamel at the 
cost of orditiary oil paint. jMade in 
white and 19 attractive colours for inside 
and outsideMecoration. 

In Gallons, Half-g-allons and Quarts. 



Wrhe for free samples, prices^^and full particulars- 

^^^^ Lewis Berger & Sons, Ltd 

Makers of Paints, Colours & Varnishes 

HOMERTON. LONDON, NE 

Branches : Pari«, Dresden, Vienna, G)penhagen 
Sydney Wellington. Bombay, New York 



